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President Donald Trump doubled down on his insistence that the U.S. annexes Greenland, arguing that any other alternative is simply “unacceptable.”
Once again repeating his stance that the annexation of the territory is needed for “national security” purposes, Trump on Wednesday morning insisted that NATO “should be leading the way for us to get it” claiming that “NATO becomes far more formidable and effective” with Greenland under the jurisdiction of the U.S.
Trump’s comments come hours before the Danish and Greenland foreign ministers are set to meet with U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance at the White House.
Read More: The Republicans Breaking Ranks With Trump Over Greenland Threats: ‘This Is Appalling’
Despite the mounting pressure from the U.S., Greenland—a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark—has maintained its firm disinterest in coming under America's control.
In a damning public rebuke on Tuesday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said: “We are now facing a geopolitical crisis, and if we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark.”
Standing alongside Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen, Nielsen emphasized: “We choose NATO. We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. We choose the E.U.”
This isn't the first time Nielsen has implored Trump to stop his annexation rhetoric after the U.S. President renewed his threats against Greenland in the wake of the Venezuela operation which captured and detained fallen President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
“No more pressure. No more hints. No more fantasies about annexation,” the territory's leader urged on Jan. 4, stating that Greenland will no longer stand for “pressure” or “disrespectful posts on social media.”
Nielsen has received an outpouring of support from European leaders, who have taken a strong stance against the White House's repeated refusal to rule out resorting to military force to annex the territory.
But it isn't only European figures and NATO allies who have showcased solidarity with Greenland, as members within Trump's own Republican Party have rebuked his pressure campaign on the island.
“This is appalling. Greenland is a NATO ally. Denmark is one of our best friends… so the way we’re treating them is really demeaning and it has no upside,” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska told CNN last week. “We’re not going to acquire Greenland. I know most of those people in Greenland want to remain independent.”
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