Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized the Trump administration's ambitions toward Greenland on Wednesday, saying "threats and intimidation" by U.S. officials over the strategic Arctic island are "unseemly" and "counterproductive."
Tensions escalated after the White House said this week that using the U.S. military to acquire Greenland was an option as President Donald Trump renewed calls to take over the semiautonomous Danish territory for national security reasons.
"Threats and intimidation by U.S. officials over American ownership of Greenland are as unseemly as they are counterproductive," McConnell said in a statement. "And the use of force to seize the sovereign democratic territory of one of America's most loyal and capable allies would be an especially catastrophic act of strategic self-harm to America and its global influence.
"The northernmost reaches of the globe may well shape our strategic competition with major adversaries like Russia and China for decades to come. But if America behaves as though winning that competition requires trampling the sovereignty, respect, and trust of our allies, we will surely lose it."
Denmark and Greenland are reportedly seeking a meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio after the Trump administration doubled down on its intention to take over the island.
"Arctic security matters," McConnell said. "So does the strength of our alliances. These interests are not in conflict. They are inseparably linked.
"Close security cooperation between Americans, Danes, and Greenlanders is a tradition older than NATO, the most successful military alliance in human history. Through the Cold War and still today, cooperation with Arctic allies from Canada to the Nordics already grants the United States sweeping access to positions of strategic importance."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the issue in Wednesday's briefing, which aired live on Newsmax, saying Trump remains focused on diplomacy.
"All options are always on the table for President Trump as he examines what's in the best interests of the United States," Leavitt said. "But the president's first option always has been diplomacy."
Reps. Blake Moore, R-Utah, and Steny Hoyer, D-Md., co-chairs of the Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus, said in a joint statement Wednesday that "saber-rattling" over annexing Greenland is "needlessly dangerous."
"The Kingdom of Denmark is a NATO ally and one of America's closest partners," they said. "An attack on Greenland — a crucial part of that alliance — would tragically be an attack on NATO. Denmark recognizes how important Greenland is to our mutual security in the Arctic region. They have moved in lockstep with the United States in Greenland for decades, accepting every request to increase our military presence on the island.
"If the message is that 'we need Greenland,' the truth is that we already have access to everything we could need from Greenland. If we want to deploy more forces or build additional missile defense infrastructure in Greenland, Denmark has given us a green light to do so. Our ally has always accommodated us. Threatening to annex Greenland needlessly undermines that cooperation for no gain.
"Russia, China, and other authoritarian regimes around the world are yearning for conquest. The last thing America needs is a civil war among NATO that endangers our security and our way of life."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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