> At a Glance
> – Denmark and Greenland request urgent meeting with Marco Rubio after Trump repeats claim that “U.S. military is always an option” for taking the island
> – 12 European nations reaffirm Greenland belongs to its people, warning a takeover would shatter NATO
> – Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland gives the U.S. a pre-positioned force if Washington orders action
> > Why it matters: A forced U.S. annexation would redraw Arctic borders, end Denmark’s NATO membership, and test the alliance’s mutual-defense pledge for the first time
The White House doubled down Tuesday on President Donald Trump’s vow to seize Greenland, prompting Denmark and Greenland’s leaders to seek an emergency meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Europe Unites Against U.S. Threat
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that any U.S. takeover would mean “the end of NATO.” Her statement was backed by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom, who issued a joint declaration defending Greenland’s sovereignty.
Maria Martisiute, defense analyst at the European Policy Centre, told Daniel J. Whitman:
> “The Nordics do not lightly make statements like this. But it is Trump, whose very bombastic language bordering on direct threats and intimidation, is threatening the fact to another ally.”
U.S. Military Options Already on the Ground
The Department of Defense already operates Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland. Danish military expert Thomas Crosbie said American troops stationed there could seize the capital without reinforcements:
> “They could just direct the military personnel currently there to drive to the center of Nuuk and just say, ‘This is America now.'”
Crosbie added the U.S. already enjoys all the security access it needs under existing alliances, so annexation would bring “no benefits” beyond undermining global norms.
Political Fallout in Washington
Bipartisan push-back emerged in the Senate. Jeanne Shaheen and Thom Tillis, co-chairs of the Senate NATO Observer Group, warned:
> “Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow NATO ally to coercion undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Rubio dismissed the idea of a Venezuela-style operation, but European leaders remain alarmed after U.S. military action in Venezuela last weekend.
Key Takeaways
- Denmark’s parliament passed a bill in June allowing U.S. bases on Danish soil, but retains the right to terminate the deal if Washington annexes Greenland
- Greenland controls vital Arctic shipping lanes and sits among the U.S., Russia and Europe, making it a geopolitical prize for more than 150 years
- Trump told reporters Sunday: “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and the European Union needs us to have it”
With Copenhagen and Nuuk requesting the Rubio meeting, the standoff tests whether Trump’s rhetoric will translate into action against America’s northernmost ally.
