A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers traveled to Copenhagen in a symbolic effort to reassure Denmark and Greenland that most Americans oppose President Trump’s push to annex or buy Greenland, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) saying that about “75 percent” of Americans do not believe acquiring Greenland is a good idea and stressing that “Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” while noting that “The Congress also has a role” in checking the executive branch, even as Trump, speaking at a White House meeting, threatened to impose tariffs on countries that “don’t go along with Greenland,” without naming specific nations and reiterating his view that U.S. control is necessary for national security.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) said the visit aimed to “lower the temperature” and accused the president of exaggerating security risks, arguing there are no pressing threats from China or Russia today and that Arctic security can be addressed respectfully through NATO partnerships.
Denmark has repeatedly said Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory with about 57,000 residents, is not for sale, a position echoed by European leaders who insist decisions about the island’s future rest with Denmark and Greenland.
As the U.S. delegation met Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen and Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen; former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Trump’s threats were “a difficult development” that shook his view of the United States, while on Capitol Hill several Republicans criticized the administration’s rhetoric as corrosive to NATO, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) calling it “sick of stupid” and Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) warning it could “incinerate” allied trust, even as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said military action is “not something that anybody’s contemplating seriously”; lawmakers moved to constrain the administration, with Murkowski and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire) introducing legislation to withhold funding for any effort to exert control over a NATO ally’s territory, Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) drafting a war powers resolution, and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-California) and Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) introducing a resolution reaffirming U.S. respect for Danish sovereignty, as aides described the trip as a “reassurance tour,” while related controversy rippled across the region after nearly 5,000 people in Iceland signed a petition protesting comments by ambassadorial nominee Billy Long, who later apologized for joking remarks about Iceland becoming a U.S. state.