Lawmakers says Greenland should be viewed as U.S. ally, “not as an asset”

A bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation sought to reassure Denmark and Greenland of their support following President Trump’s threat to punish countries with tariffs if they don’t support the U.S. taking over the strategic Arctic island.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, said that Greenland needs to be viewed as a U.S. ally, “not as an asset,” while Sen. Chris Coons said they want to de-escalate the situation.

“I hope that the people of the Kingdom of Denmark do not abandon their faith in the American people,” Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, said in Copenhagen, adding that the U.S. has respect for Denmark and NATO “for all we’ve done together.”

Their comments contrasted with those emanating from the White House. Mr. Trump has floated a U.S. takeover of Greenland for months, pointing to the island’s strategically valuable location. He has sought to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their own designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.

The Trump administration has not ruled out taking the island by military force, and on Friday, Mr. Trump threatened to hike tariffs on any countries that don’t “go along with” his push to annex Greenland.

 “I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security. So I may do that,” he said.

The gambit has drawn strong pushback from officials in Greenland, Denmark and across Europe.

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said earlier this week that “we choose Denmark,” and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said a U.S. takeover would effectively mean the end of NATO.

“It undermines NATO at a time when our adversaries seek to benefit from division,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, in Denmark.

European leaders have insisted it is only for Denmark and Greenland to decide on matters concerning the territory, and Denmark said this week that it was increasing its military presence in Greenland in cooperation with allies.

“There is almost no better ally to the United States than Denmark,” Coons said. “If we do things that cause Danes to question whether we can be counted on as a NATO ally, why would any other country seek to be our ally or believe in our representations?”

Earlier this week, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland met in Washington this week with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

That encounter didn’t resolve the deep differences, but did produce an agreement to set up a working group — on whose purpose Denmark and the White House then offered sharply diverging public views.

And as this Arctic fight over Greenland’s future heats up, many of its nearly 60,000 people are scared.

“The Americans used to be the good guys; they helped us, but now they all of a sudden are our enemy and that is a shock,” said Liv Aurora Jensen.

Thousands of people marched through Copenhagen, many of them carrying Greenland’s flag, on Saturday afternoon in support of the self-governing island. Others held signs with slogans like “Make America Smart Again” and “Hands Off.”

“This is important for the whole world,” Danish protester Elise Riechie told The Associated Press as she held Danish and Greenlandic flags. “There are many small countries. None of them are for sale.”

Other rallies were planned in Nuuk, the Greenlandic capital, and elsewhere in the Danish kingdom.