COPENHAGEN, Denmark — As a bipartisan parliamentary delegation begins whirlwind meetings with Danish and Greenlandic leaders, the Danish people have made clear they have no interest in the U.S. occupation of the Arctic island and want their leaders to stand their ground.
“I think this is a really big problem,” Ina Tommelup said as she left the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen. President Donald Trump “doesn’t really care,” she said. “I think he thinks Denmark is really small. That’s true, but we also have a lot of alliances.”
Her comments came as U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, arrived in the Danish capital to meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen.
Sens. Thom Tillis (R.N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) are also among the 11-member group, which is made up mostly of Democrats.
“The signs are clear,” Murkowski said Friday. “I think you will find that there is no support in Congress for acquiring Greenland in any way.”
President Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland during his first term in 2019, but in recent weeks has vowed to seize the island “one way or another”, citing concerns that it could make Greenland vulnerable to Russia and China. The White House has refused to rule out military action to retake the island from Denmark, alarming allies and rattling the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance that has protected the Western world since World War II.
Despite the leaders of Denmark and Greenland rejecting any proposal for a takeover by the US government, President Trump shows no signs of backing down.
“No one here in Parliament would agree to sell Greenland,” said Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the Danish Folketing lawmaker and chairman of the defense committee. “That’s something we would never do.”
Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Affairs, a Copenhagen-based think tank, said it is important to stress that “Denmark does not legally have the option of selling Greenland, as it does not own it” in case the situation changes.
Any financial acquisition of Greenland would require Congressional approval, but neither Republicans nor Democrats have shown little interest in funding such an acquisition.
“What we’re hearing from Delaware voters is that they want us to address health care costs, housing costs, food costs, rather than trying to spend money to buy a piece of the Kingdom of Denmark, when we already have the right to work closely together on security and economic development,” Coons said.
Lawmakers in both houses of Congress said they support legislation that would curb President Trump’s ability to seize Greenland, as the fight continues over the war powers granted to Congress by the Constitution. A House bill supporting the annexation of Greenland was also introduced by Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida.
The Congressional visit followed a meeting at the White House on Wednesday between Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lökke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Danish officials said after the meeting that they were unable to change Washington’s position on acquiring Greenland.
The anxiety within Denmark remains evident.
Walking her dog Yoda in the early morning fog, Tina Toulson said she remains extremely anxious about what Trump could do, despite Congress’ efforts to stand in his way.
“He does everything,” she said. “I don’t think there are any rules anymore. So I think that’s very scary.”
