U.S. President Donald Trump is continuing to escalate his threats to seize Greenland, the vast, frozen island that belongs to Denmark. After already shocking Europe over the weekend by announcing tariffs on a number of European countries that oppose his demand to take control of the island, a letter he sent to Norway’s prime minister was revealed Monday, hinting at the possibility of a U.S. military invasion to occupy Greenland.
“I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace,” Trump wrote to Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, linking the statement to the fact that he did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded by a Norwegian committee in Oslo.
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US President Donald Trump and Greenland
(Photo: AFP, Chris Christophersen / shutterstock)
“Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace,” Trump wrote in the letter, which was obtained by US media outlets including Bloomberg and PBS and was also sent to several European ambassadors in Washington. “Although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” he added.
If his intention regarding Greenland was not clear enough, Trump immediately went on to repeat his disputed claim that China and Russia are eyeing the resource-rich island, whose vast natural assets remain largely untapped. His critics argue that Trump is seeking control of Greenland not for national security reasons, as he claims, but in order to bring it under American ownership.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a “right of ownership” anyway? There are no written documents, it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also,” Trump wrote. “I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The World is not secure unless we have Complete and Total Control of Greenland. Thank you! President DJT.”
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Trump alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre during a meeting at the White House in April last year
(Photo: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
The dramatic letter was revealed as Europe was still scrambling to respond to Trump’s announcement over the weekend that he would impose tariffs on Denmark and seven other countries. Those countries sent small, symbolic numbers of troops to Greenland last week to support Denmark and Greenland in the face of Trump’s threats. They are Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Britain, the Netherlands and Finland.
Trump said 10% tariffs on the eight countries would take effect Feb. 1 and would rise to 25% by June 1 if no agreement is reached on what he described as the “Complete and Total purchase of Greenland” by the United States. Trump has previously imposed tariffs of 10% to 15% on these countries. It remains unclear how the new tariffs would be applied to individual European countries that are part of the EU’s single market, raising concerns they could also affect other EU member states. Norway and Britain, which Trump included in the list, are not EU members.
In a post published Sunday on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the decision by those countries to send forces to Greenland as a threat to US national security, despite the fact that they are American allies and that the deployments were small and symbolic. France, for example, sent 15 soldiers from an alpine unit, while Germany sent 13 troops. The German soldiers left the island Monday amid Trump’s threats.
In that post as well, Trump repeated his claim that Denmark is incapable of defending Greenland from powers such as Russia and China. “They currently have two dogsleds as protection, one added recently,” he wrote. “Only the United States of America, under President Donald J. Trump, can play in this game, and very successfully, at that! Nobody will touch this sacred piece of Land, especially since the National Security of the United States, and the World at large, is at stake.”
The remarks sparked shock across Europe and are widely seen as a dramatic escalation that further deepens the rift within NATO between Trump’s United States and European countries. The alliance itself is now viewed as facing a genuine threat if Trump follows through on his implied threats to invade Greenland militarily and seize the island.
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A mass protest in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, over the weekend against Trump’s threat to seize the island
(Photo: AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
On Sunday, the eight countries targeted by Trump’s tariff announcement — Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Britain — issued their first joint statement in response. They said the tariff threat undermines trans-Atlantic relations and could trigger an uncontrollable escalation. They stressed that the symbolic troop deployment to Greenland was part of an exercise aimed at strengthening regional defense, in line with Trump’s own stated goals, and not intended as a provocation.
In Europe, Trump’s move is widely seen as outright extortion. Criticism of the tariffs has also come from figures on the continent’s far right, including Jordan Bardella, deputy leader of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally party in France, who called for suspending the trade agreement signed last year between the US and the EU.
In Brussels, officials are now discussing tough countermeasures, including a package of import tariffs on US goods worth 93 billion euros, as well as a mechanism known as the Anti-Coercion Instrument, dubbed the “trade bazooka.” The tool, which has never been used before, would grant the EU emergency powers, including the ability to restrict the operations of US technology companies in Europe.
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Vast, largely untapped resources: Greenland, which Trump claims is also being eyed by Russia and China
(Photo: AFP)
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German troops sent to Greenland who withdrew after a short time amid Trump’s threats
(Photo: Alessandro RAMPAZZO / AFP)
Before activating such measures, European leaders are hoping to persuade Trump to withdraw the tariffs, which are not set to take effect until Feb. 1. Trump is expected to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday and Thursday, where he is scheduled to meet with multiple European leaders. Instead of focusing on Russia’s war in Ukraine, those meetings are now expected to center on Greenland and Trump’s tariff threats.
An emergency meeting of EU leaders is set for Thursday in Brussels, where a decision on Europe’s response may be reached if no compromise with Trump emerges.
According to reports, the proposal currently enjoying the broadest support in Brussels is to revive the 93 billion euro tariff package on US goods that the EU developed during the trade war launched by Trump last year, but later shelved after Washington and Brussels reached a trade deal in July. That agreement, which drew heavy criticism for leaving 15% tariffs in place on EU goods, has yet to be fully ratified. Following Trump’s announcement over the weekend, the European Parliament said it would freeze further discussions on the deal.
An even harsher option, described in Europe as a “doomsday weapon,” would be activating the Anti-Coercion Instrument, which was adopted in 2023 with China in mind. The measure would allow the EU, among other steps, to restrict the activities of US companies, including major technology firms.
A source close to French President Emmanuel Macron told Reuters he is pushing to activate the mechanism, but other European leaders are seeking a compromise and fear such a move could trigger a full-scale trade war with Trump. Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said that while there is no doubt the EU must respond, it is “too early” to activate the emergency tool.
For now, it remains unclear whether the measure will be used. A European diplomat told the Financial Times he hopes Trump will back down from the tariff threat before it takes effect in early February. “We have clear retaliatory tools if this continues. He is using clear mafia-style methods,” the diplomat said. “At the same time, we want to publicly call for restraint and give him a chance to climb down. The message is a carrot-and-stick approach.”