US President Donald Trump and the top officials of his administration during the night further exacerbated the already deep crisis in relations between the United States of America and Europe, openly repeating Washington’s determination to take control of Greenland. The escalation came just hours after European leaders began hastily coordinating a response to the US decision to impose tariffs on the countries most vocally opposed to the plan.
While emergency consultative talks were underway in European capitals, Trump sent a message in a late-night social media post that further shook alliances within NATO and raised concerns about the future of transatlantic relations.
Trump: “It’s time – and it will be done”
In an announcement that quickly caused stormy reactions, Trump directly accused Denmark of its inability to secure Greenland and invoked what he claims were long-standing NATO warnings. “NATO has been telling Denmark for 20 years that it ‘must remove the Russian threat from Greenland.’ Unfortunately, Denmark has been unable to do anything about it. Now is the time – and it will be done!!!,” Trump wrote, signing himself as “President Donald J. Trump.”
The message was seen as the most direct announcement so far that Washington is seriously considering unilateral steps towards the territory that is an autonomous part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Europe projects weakness, the US projects strength”
The rhetoric of the White House was further strengthened by the US Minister of Finance Scott Bessent, who stated in an interview with NBC that the difference between Europe and the USA is fundamental. “The Europeans project weakness, the United States projects strength,” Bessent said.
He added that Trump firmly believes that “improved Arctic security is not possible without Greenland becoming part of the United States of America.”
Such statements further upset the European allies, because they imply that the security arrangements within NATO are no longer based on a collective agreement, but on American unilateral interests.
Greenland, Ukraine and the US security umbrella
In an even more serious escalation, Bessent linked the Greenland issue to the continuation of US support for Ukraine, further increasing the pressure on European leaders. “European leaders will eventually agree. They will understand that they have to be under the American security umbrella,” he said.
Then he asked a question that caused shock in European diplomatic circles: “What would happen in Ukraine if the US withdrew its support? Everything would fall apart.”
Such a statement was interpreted as an implicit threat to withdraw American military and financial aid to Ukraine if Europe does not give in on the issue of Greenland.
Europe in emergency regime: EU summit, Starmer’s conference
The question of Greenland’s future will dominate the European political agenda today. European leaders are intensively coordinating the next steps ahead of the extraordinary summit of the European Union, which should be held on Thursday.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also get involved in the crisis, and an extraordinary press conference has been announced for this morning, where London is expected to clearly articulate its position towards American threats and trade sanctions.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland are planning a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who is considered one of Trump’s closest European partners.
Mark Rutte: diplomatic optimism on trial
Although Rutte is known for his highly diplomatic and, according to critics, overly lenient approach to Washington, he too failed to draw an optimistic tone from his conversation with Trump on Sunday night.
In a brief and restrained statement, he said: “I spoke with @POTUS about the security situation in Greenland and the Arctic. We will continue to work on this issue and I look forward to meeting him in Davos later this week.”
The statement, devoid of the usual diplomatic phrases about “constructive dialogue”, was interpreted as a sign of deep concern within NATO.
A letter to Norway that further ignited the fire
However, the most explosive discovery of the day came from a completely different direction. According to PBS journalist Nick Schifrin, which was then reported by numerous European media, Trump sent a letter to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre over the weekend.
In the letter, Trump states: “Given that your country has decided not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping eight PLUS wars, I no longer feel obligated to think exclusively about peace.”
He added, in a tone that left many speechless: “While peace will always be the dominant thought, I can now also think about what is good and right for the United States of America.”
A particular irony was the fact that the Norwegian government does not even decide on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize, which is the responsibility of an independent committee based in Oslo.
“The world is not safe without full control of Greenland”
In the same letter, Trump further intensified his threats to Denmark, openly questioning its sovereignty over Greenland. “Denmark cannot protect that country from Russia or China, and why do they even have ‘ownership rights’? There are no written records – only a ship docked there hundreds of years ago, but we had ships there too,” Trump wrote.
He concluded with a message that caused deep concern among the Allies: “I have done more for NATO than any other person since its inception. Now NATO must do something for the United States. The world is not safe until we have full and total control of Greenland.”
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre confirmed the letter’s authenticity in a statement to VG newspaper, saying it came in response to an earlier message he and Finnish President Alexander Stubb sent to Trump.
Although diplomatic channels remain open, messages from Washington clearly indicate that the dispute over Greenland can no longer be considered a rhetorical excess, but a potentially serious geopolitical crisis that threatens to redefine relations within NATO and between Europe and the United States of America.
As the extraordinary EU summit approaches, one thing is certain: the Greenland issue is no longer just an Arctic issue – it has become a test of the future world order.
