President Trump’s ultimately empty threat to use military force to annex the island has arguably become one of the toughest tests of Republican loyalty in the president’s second term.
President Donald Trump touts ‘full access to Greenland’
President Donald Trump touted “full access to Greenland” through a framework agreement with NATO.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is saying a lot of things that will make life difficult for Republicans in Congress.
For many of them, his latest obsession with acquiring Greenland was in a class of its own.
The anxiety on Capitol Hill was evident as the commander-in-chief said on January 9, “If we’re not going to do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way,” repeatedly denying the possibility of using military force to seize the resource-rich island.
In the halls between the Senate and House of Representatives, Republicans railed against the idea that the United States could launch hostilities against the territory of NATO ally Denmark. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) called the potential occupation of Greenland, which polls show most Americans oppose, “a particularly devastating act of strategic self-harm against America.”
“Greenland needs to be seen not as an asset, but as an ally of ours,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. She made the comments alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers who visited Copenhagen on January 16 in hopes of allaying Danish leaders’ concerns over President Trump’s hostile rhetoric.
The dispute, which reached detente on January 21 after the president said he had reached a “framework for a future agreement” with NATO chiefs, has arguably become one of the toughest tests of Republican loyalty in the president’s second term.
In some ways, it was a sign of Trump’s continued advantage over many Republicans, who praised his tough negotiating style and recalled past failed bids by U.S. presidents to buy the world’s largest island outside the continent.
At the same time, the debate also revealed hints of the limits of its influence, particularly on critical issues such as maintaining the NATO alliance.
And it’s not over. President Trump has not yet released details of the new agreement reached. What that framework ultimately looks like could pose a new litmus test for Congressional Republicans.
Regardless of the terms of the agreement, many of them are already working overtime to defuse tensions within NATO, long considered America’s most important alliance.
“It’s troubling that the president made a statement like this and caused tension within our allies,” Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on January 18. “And I’m sure there will be a continued discussion among all of our allies about what this means.”
In an interview with the Omaha World-Herald, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) was more blunt:
“So many Republicans are upset about this,” he said on January 14, calling President Trump’s approach to Greenland “total buffoonery.”
President Trump denies using force against Greenland, Republicans relieved
After weeks of veiled threats against the Danes, President Trump finally softened his words on January 21 in a speech to other world leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
In remarks at the World Economic Forum, he asserted that military action against Greenland, where the United States already has a presence, was not on the table. (He appeared to confuse Iceland and Greenland multiple times in the same speech, but White House officials denied that his multiple references to Iceland were gaffes.)
President Trump said, “There is no need to use force. We do not want to use force. We will not use force. All the United States wants is a place called Greenland.”
Many Republicans breathed a sigh of relief after the president’s assurance.
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told USA TODAY on Jan. 22 that he was “glad to see the president make it clear that he’s not going to use military force to resolve the concerns here. We need to continue to work with Denmark and our European allies, and we will.”
President Trump then announced on social media that he had reached an agreement with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that would allow the United States to strengthen its military presence in Greenland with “full access” without formally acquiring it.
“We’re getting everything we want for free,” he said.
It was not immediately clear what new changes were finalized. A 1951 agreement between the United States and Denmark already gives the U.S. military the right to establish bases in Greenland and move freely within the Arctic island. And Greenland Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said he was not initially involved in discussions with Trump and Rutte.
“I don’t know what is included in the agreements and agreements regarding my country,” he told reporters in the capital Nuuk.
Although they didn’t know the details, many Republicans were quick to praise the president as another example of his deal-making skills.
Rep. Byron Donald, R-Florida, told USA TODAY that critics have spent the past few weeks focusing too much on what the president is saying instead of trusting him to deliver what’s best for the country.
As for why it took President Trump so long to eliminate the invasion of America’s allies, he said, “I want you to ask the president.”
Contributed by: Reuters
Zachary Schermele is a Congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and on Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social..
