Senior White House aide Stephen Miller has intensified the Trump administration's controversial push to acquire Greenland, openly questioning Denmark's sovereignty over the vast Arctic territory and asserting that no nation would dare challenge the United States militarily over its future.
Aide Questions Basis of Danish Control
In a striking interview, Miller, who serves as Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, challenged the legal and historical basis of Denmark's control. He incorrectly stated Greenland's population as 30,000, when it is actually around 57,000, and framed the issue around US strategic needs. "What right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?" Miller asked, describing the territory as a colony.
He argued that for the US to secure the Arctic region and defend NATO interests, "obviously Greenland should be part of the US." Miller explicitly dismissed the notion of a military operation as unnecessary, claiming, "Nobody is going to fight the US militarily over the future of Greenland. That doesn’t make any sense."
International Backlash and Diplomatic Crisis
The comments have triggered a severe diplomatic rift and prompted an urgent response from Copenhagen and Nuuk. The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting of parliament to discuss relations with the US, to be attended by Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a stark warning on Monday, stating that a US attack on a NATO ally would mean the end of the alliance and the entire post-Second World War security architecture. It would, she said, mark the end of "everything."
Greenland's own Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, delivered a forceful rebuke, urging President Trump to abandon his "fantasies about annexation" and condemning the US rhetoric as "completely and utterly unacceptable." His government, formed in March as a show of national unity, has a coalition agreement whose first page declares: "Greenland belongs to us."
Context of Venezuelan Operation and Strategic History
Miller's remarks follow President Trump's weekend comments, made fresh from the military operation that removed Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro, that the US needed Greenland "very badly." The issue was further inflamed when Miller's wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a map on X of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption "SOON" hours after the Venezuela action.
When asked about the post, Miller laughed and stated that making Greenland part of the US has been the formal position of the government since the beginning of the administration. The US has a long-standing strategic interest in Greenland, maintaining the Pituffik (formerly Thule) Air Base since the Cold War, which is critical for ballistic missile early warning.
Greenland, where Inuit people have lived since 2500 BCE, became a Danish colony in the 18th century. It was part of Denmark-Norway until 1814, remained a Danish colony until 1953, and is now a constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark. During the Second World War, when Denmark was occupied by Germany, the US occupied Greenland and returned it to Danish control in 1945. In recent years, support for full independence from Denmark has grown within Greenland.
