Stephen Miller Intensifies Threats to Take Over Greenland

A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has increased tensions on Denmark by challenging Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments come amid growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to purchase Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting to discuss the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be gained without armed conflict due to its limited number of residents.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

He stated there was “no need to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an attack by the US a NATO ally would mean the end of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

The aide's assertions came after his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the social media post, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been explicit about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, important for its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support for self-rule, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

However, facing the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”