Danish Vet to Newsmax: Trump's NATO Comments Felt Like 'Betrayal'

A Danish combat veteran who fought shoulder to shoulder with U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan says he feels "betrayed" by President Donald Trump's dismissal of NATO allies' sacrifices as Danish veterans prepare to march Saturday on the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen.

The comments have struck a nerve in Denmark just as its leaders met in Paris Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Arctic security and cooperation with the U.S. while safeguarding Danish sovereignty and Greenland's territorial integrity amid Trump's desire to obtain the world's largest island, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

"We get along very well with NATO, I think, but I've always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? And that's really the ultimate test, and I'm not sure of that," Trump said last week.

"You know, they'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan or this or that, and they did," he continued.

"They stayed a little back, a little off the front lines."

Newsmax spoke with Martin Tamm Andersen, a Danish veteran who says Trump's remarks cut deeply for those who fought and bled alongside Americans.

Andersen told Newsmax he lost one of his soldiers in Iraq to an improvised explosive device, and in Afghanistan he lost both his mentor and one of his closest friends.

Hearing Trump's comments, Andersen said, "I really felt also that it was a betrayal. I think it was a betrayal on the shared values that we have ... a betrayal of loyalty."

European allies were briefly reassured last week when Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that he would not use military force to take Greenland from NATO ally Denmark.

More than 1,000 NATO troops were killed fighting alongside the U.S. in Afghanistan after the U.S. invoked Article 5 following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with hundreds more dying in Iraq.

Denmark, though small, paid a price in those wars, particularly in Afghanistan, where its casualty rate was among the highest per capita of any NATO country.

"And I think that's really the worst part of it," Andersen said.

"There's been a strong sense of loyalty within the NATO alliance and from Denmark and the U.S., and it feels like that's actually worth nothing."

Despite the anger, Andersen said he still believes in the bond between American and Danish troops forged on the battlefield.

He warned, however, that the damage to trust may linger far beyond the current dispute.

"If it was all a ploy to get some NATO countries to join in on the Golden Dome, I think it could have been done a lot more easily and a lot more elegantly," Andersen said.

"I think the mistrust going forward is going to be huge," he added.

"And I think that will be a big problem in relations going forward and for the free world."

That mistrust will be on public display Saturday, when Danish veterans march under the banner #NoWords to the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen.

"We are at a loss for words," wrote the organizers on the event's website.

"Denmark has always stood side by side with the US — and we have stood in the world's hot spots when the US has asked us to," the statement reads.

"We feel let down and ridiculed by the Trump Administration, which deliberately ignores Denmark's fight side by side with the US," the organizers add.

"No words can describe how painful it is that Denmark's efforts and sacrifices in the fight for democracy, peace and freedom are forgotten in the White House."

The march will culminate with speeches, followed by a minute of silence at 1:03 p.m. and a solemn procession to the embassy.

"No words can express how much we feel for our American brothers in arms," the statement concludes, "and how much we hope that we can once again stand shoulder to shoulder."