U.S. President Donald Trump got a stern rebuke from a group of European leaders—including U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and ultra-conservative Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — after reiterating his desire for the United States to acquire Greenland, a territory of Denmark. But members of the Trump Administration, including senior adviser Stephen Miller and White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, are doubling down on Trump's Greenland policy.
Leavitt, in a statement obtained by ABC News on Tuesday, January 6, said, "President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it's vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region." And Leavitt even implied that taking Greenland by force is a possibility, saying that "utilizing the U.S. military is always an option."
The next morning, MS NOW's Joe Scarborough — a Never Trump conservative and former GOP congressman — slammed Trump officials' threats to invade Greenland as "damaging to" the United States' "national security interests." Scarborough attacked proponents of annexing Greenland as "idiots" for "talking about invading a NATO ally."
University of Arkansas law professor Robert Anderson offered some Greenland/Trump analysis in an in-depth thread posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Anderson argued that if Greenland votes for independence from Denmark, it could encourage the island to seek a closer relationship with the U.S. But some X users are attacking his claim that "the US is not going to attack Denmark" as naïve.
Anderson tweeted, "The bluster from Trump is to give encouragement to Greenlanders for a vote of independence, and a warning to Denmark not to ignore the results of such a vote…. Once the vote for independence happens, Greenland will need an alternative means of economic support because the economy is not self-sustaining…. Then they will enter into something like a 'compact of free association' with the US that will involve economic support and strategic cooperation."
The law professor argued, "Now, I could see a person saying, 'It's improper for the US president to interfere in an ally's affairs by encouraging its territory to vote for independence,' but the rhetoric has gone so far beyond that as to be disingenuous."
Some X users, however, countered that Anderson underestimates what the Trump Administration is capable of.
Attorney Clifford Smith tweeted, "Sure, Trump is all talk. Until he's not. You're probably right. But if you claim you know he is, you're a fool."
David Goldiner posted, "BS ... trump is deadly serious and you are blind."
