On Sunday, January 18, U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store complaining about two things: (1) European nations, including Norway, opposing U.S. acquisition of Greenland, and (2) Europeans not nominating him for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump wrote, "Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America. Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a 'right of ownership' anyway? There are no written documents, it's only a boat that landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also. I have done more for NATO than any person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT."

During a recent visit to the White House, Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado gave her medal to Trump. But according to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, this is a blatant violation of Nobel rules — as the award is not transferable.

In an article published on January 19, The Atlantic's Anne Applebaum warns that Trump's letter can only make a bad situation worse and urges GOP lawmakers to speak out before it's too late.

European leaders, from French President Emmanuel Macron to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, are vehemently opposed to Trump's push for U.S. acquisition of Greenland. And Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is warning that a U.S. attack on the Arctic island would sink the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

"Donald Trump now genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him," Applebaum laments. "Also, he really is maniacally, unhealthily obsessive about the Nobel Prize. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, not the Norwegian government and certainly not the Danish government, determines the winner of that prize. Yet Trump now not only blames Norway for failing to give it to him, but is using it as a justification for the invasion of Greenland."

Applebaum continues, "Think about where this is leading. One possibility, anticipated this morning by financial markets, is a damaging trade war. Another is an American military occupation of Greenland. Try to imagine it: The U.S. Marines arrive in Nuuk, the island's capital. Perhaps they kill some Danes; perhaps some American soldiers die too. And then what?"

Republicans in Congress, Applebaum stresses, need to speak out against Trump's threats against Greenland before the situation goes from bad to worse.

"The people around Trump could find ways to stop him, as some did in his first term, but they seem too corrupt or too power-hungry to try," Applebaum argues. "That leaves Republicans in Congress as the last barrier. They owe it to the American people, and to the world, to stop Trump from acting out his fantasy in Greenland and doing permanent damage to American interests. He is at risk of alienating friends not only in Europe but also, India, whose leader he also snubbed for failing to nominate him for a Nobel Prize, as well as South Korea, Japan, Australia."

Applebaum adds, "Years of careful diplomacy, billions of dollars in trade, are now at risk because senators and representatives who know better have refused to use the powers they have to block him. Now is the time."

Anne Applebaum's full article for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).

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