Donald Trump’s escalating calls for the United States to seize or otherwise obtain Greenland have ignited fresh criticism from the president’s own Republican party, with some saying it could hurt the US economically or strain the Nato military alliance.
Such Republicans included US senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, who were part of a bipartisan group to travel to Denmark to discuss concerns in Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory. Both sharply criticised new tariffs threatened by Trump on European countries, including Denmark, until the US is allowed to purchase Greenland.
Murkowski wrote on X that the tariffs were “unnecessary, punitive, and a profound mistake”, coming after Nato allies deployed troops in Greenland in response to Trump’s threats to forcefully take the Arctic island. “They will push our core European allies further away while doing nothing to advance US national security,” she said.
Tillis added: “This response to our own allies for sending a small number of troops to Greenland for training is bad for America, bad for American businesses, and bad for America’s allies. It’s great for Putin, Xi and other adversaries who want to see Nato divided.” Mike Pence, former vice-president, said the posture “does threaten to fracture that strong relationship, not just with Denmark, but with all of our Nato allies”.
Republican House member Michael McCaul cautioned that a US military intervention in Greenland would “press a war with Nato itself”. Meanwhile, Senator Rand Paul called it “ridiculous” to portray Greenland as an urgent situation. Polling shows a substantial majority of Americans oppose taking control of the island.
