Stephen Miller Intensifies Assertions Regarding the Acquisition of Greenland

A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has ramped up the pressure on Denmark by disputing Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to assume control of the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

These remarks come amid increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” he asked.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

These statements came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “urgently”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, calling on the US president to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the social media post, he responded by stating: “This has represented the official stance of the US government since the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

Greenland was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a military base there, important for its national missile defense network.

Recently, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following revelations about historical policies of the local population.

However, facing the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”