COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a stark warning Monday that any U.S. military action to acquire Greenland would effectively terminate the NATO alliance. This statement came in direct response to President Donald Trump’s renewed assertions about bringing the mineral-rich Arctic territory under American control, following the controversial military operation in Venezuela over the weekend.
The dramatic nighttime raid in Caracas targeting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife has intensified anxieties in Denmark and its semiautonomous territory Greenland, both NATO members. Frederiksen, alongside Greenlandic counterpart Jens Frederik Nielsen, strongly condemned Trump’s remarks and cautioned about potentially catastrophic repercussions. Multiple European leaders have expressed solidarity with their position.
“Military aggression by the United States against another NATO nation would immediately dissolve the alliance,” Frederiksen stated during an interview with Danish broadcaster TV2. “This would mean the end of NATO and consequently the collapse of the security framework maintained since World War II.”
Trump’s persistent interest in acquiring Greenland—first expressed during his presidential transition and reiterated recently—has created mounting concerns. His Sunday comment to reporters suggesting “let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days” has been interpreted as hinting at potential near-term intervention. The president has previously refused to rule out military action to secure control of the strategically vital island.
Frederiksen emphasized that Trump’s statements “should be taken seriously,” adding that Denmark “will not accept a situation where we and Greenland are threatened in this way.” Nielsen separately affirmed that Greenland’s situation differs fundamentally from Venezuela’s, urging citizens to remain calm and united while maintaining that “the United States cannot simply conquer Greenland.”
TV2 political journalist Ask Rostrup observed that while Frederiksen would have previously dismissed the possibility of an American takeover, the escalating rhetoric has forced her to acknowledge it as a genuine concern.
Trump further heightened tensions by mocking Denmark’s security enhancements in Greenland, sarcastically referring to the addition of “one more dog sled” to the territory’s defenses. He asserted that Greenland is “covered with Russian and Chinese ships” and crucial for U.S. national security, claiming Denmark lacks capability to protect it.
However, Ulrik Pram Gad, a global security expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, challenged this assessment in a recent report, noting that while Russian and Chinese vessels operate in the Arctic, “these vessels are too far away to see from Greenland with or without binoculars.”
The situation was further inflamed when Katie Miller, a former Trump administration official married to influential deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, posted an illustrated map of Greenland in American colors captioned “SOON” on social media following the Venezuela raid. Denmark’s ambassador to Washington, Jesper Møller Sørensen, responded by demanding “full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
The United States already maintains significant military presence in Greenland through the remote Pituffik Space Base in the northwest, established under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark. The facility supports missile warning, defense, and space surveillance operations for both the U.S. and NATO.
Denmark’s relationship with the United States extends beyond Greenland, with the Scandinavian nation purchasing American F-35 fighter jets and recently approving legislation allowing U.S. military bases on Danish soil—a move critics argue compromises Danish sovereignty.