President Donald Trump has warned that the United States could quit NATO if allied nations fail to support America's bid to acquire Greenland. When asked by a reporter outside the White House on Friday whether NATO's stance on Greenland could prompt such a move, the president raised the possibility of pulling the United States out of the alliance.
Trump warned his critics and wrote on Truth Social: "We're going to see. NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland; we need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don't have it we have a very big hole in terms of national security, especially in terms of the Golden Dome."
Trump's Final Threat
The "Golden Dome" is a proposed, multi-layer missile defense shield that the president says would depend on the U.S. taking control of Denmark's Arctic territory. Earlier, Trump stepped up his pressure by threatening tariffs on countries that refuse to back his push on Greenland.
In response to his increasingly aggressive rhetoric, Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden announced on Thursday that they would deploy small numbers of troops to Greenland.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Copenhagen on Friday for talks aimed at reinforcing support for America's NATO ally. The 11 members of Congress were scheduled to meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
"We are showing bipartisan solidarity with the people of this country and with Greenland. They've been our friends and allies for decades," Democratic Senator Dick Durbin told reporters.
"We want them to know we appreciate that very much. And the statements being made by the president do not reflect what the American people feel."
The visit comes just days after talks in Washington on Wednesday, where Danish officials made it clear they are in "fundamental disagreement" with Trump's stance on Greenland.
Greenland Looking for Support
Back in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, residents responded positively, saying the show of international support was reassuring. "Congress would never approve of a military action in Greenland. It's just one idiot speaking," a 39-year-old union representative said.
"If he does it, he'll get impeached or kicked out. If people in Congress want to save their own democracy, they have to step up," said the union rep, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Trump claims that the United States needs Greenland for its rich mineral resources and has accused Denmark of failing, in his view, to do enough to protect the territory.
He has continued to press that case even though strategically important Greenland, as part of Denmark, already falls under NATO's security protection.
On Friday, residents in Nuuk noticed a stronger military presence, coming just days after Denmark announced it was stepping up defenses on the island.
"I don't think troops in Europe impact the president's decision-making process, nor does it impact his goal of the acquisition of Greenland at all," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told a briefing.
