Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) on CNN on January 7, 2026 (Image: Screengrab via CNN / YouTube)
After the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, President Donald Trump's administration has hinted that it may also use the military to annex Greenland. One Republican senator believes that would be a serious mistake.
During a Wednesday interview on CNN, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) remarked that he had just attended a classified briefing with Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, where lawmakers were briefed on the operation in Venezuela. Kennedy acknowledged that Rubio also discussed Greenland, and then offered the administration some advice.
"Let me give you my perspective. Even even a modestly intelligent ninth grader knows that to invade Greenland would be weapons-grade stupid," he said.
Kennedy then opined that neither Trump nor Rubio were "weapons-grade stupid," and he did not believe that they would deploy the U.S. military in Greenland. He also predicted that Trump would not try to purchase the island from Denmark, which currently owns the territory (though Greenland is self-governing and has its own parliament).
"There are 41,000 people, electors, eligible to vote in Greenland. If everybody votes, 20,501 Greenlanders can vote to join America," Kennedy said. "I'm not saying that will or won't happen, but I think that's really what the president is up to."
The question of whether the Trump administration will commit the military to Greenland remains open. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt maintained this week that the administration believes controlling Greenland is necessary for national security purposes, and that "utilizing the U.S. military is always an option" to achieve that goal.
While the U.S. Constitution assigns the power to officially declare war to Congress in Article I, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday that Trump has the authority to use the military as he sees fit under his Article II powers as commander-in-chief. When asked directly whether Trump had the authority to authorize an invasion of Greenland, Johnson walked away.
Watch the video of Kennedy's interview on CNN below:
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