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Trump further claimed that NATO has pressured Denmark for decades to strengthen security in Greenland and implied that allied patience has run out. By framing the issue as both a security failure and an urgent geopolitical necessity, he positioned the United States as the actor willing to take decisive action where others allegedly have not.
The warning did not arrive in isolation. It came just one day after Trump announced a sweeping set of economic measures aimed squarely at Europe. A 10 percent tariff on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland is set to take effect on February 1. According to Trump, the tariffs will remain in place “until Greenland becomes American,” tying economic pressure directly to territorial demands in a way that immediately alarmed European capitals.
A special EU leaders’ summit has been scheduled to address the crisis, underscoring how quickly Trump’s remarks transformed a long-standing geopolitical curiosity into a full-blown diplomatic confrontation. For many European officials, the issue is no longer just about Greenland, but about the precedent such pressure sets within alliances built on mutual respect and consent.
On the ground in Greenland, the reaction has been equally emphatic. In the capital city of Nuuk, around 1,000 residents recently marched through the city center to the U.S. consulate, protesting Trump’s remarks and reaffirming their opposition to any transfer of sovereignty. Demonstrators emphasized that Greenland’s future is a matter for Greenlanders themselves, not a bargaining chip in global power politics.
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