COPENHAGEN, Denmark — As a bipartisan congressional delegation began a whirlwind round of meetings with the leaders of Denmark and Greenland, Danish people made it clear they have no interest in a U.S. takeover of the Arctic island and they want their leaders to stand their ground.
“I think it is a really big problem,” Ina Tommerup said as she was leaving the Royal Danish Library in Copenhagen. President Donald Trump “doesn’t really care,” she said. “I think he thinks Denmark is really small, which is true, but we also have a lot of alliances.”
Her comments came as the U.S. lawmakers led by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., touched down in the Danish capital for meetings with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, are also among the 11-member group, which is mostly made up of Democrats.
“The signals are clear,” Murkowski said Friday. “I think you will find that support in Congress to acquire Greenland in any way is not there.”
Trump first floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in 2019 during his first term but, in recent weeks, he has vowed to take control of the island “one way or the other,” citing concerns it could be vulnerable to Russia or China. The White House has refused to rule out military action to seize the island from Denmark, alarming allies and rattling the NATO alliance, which has protected the Western world since World War II.
Despite the leaders of Denmark and Greenland rejecting any sort of offer of an American government takeover, Trump has shown no sign of backing down.
“I don’t think you’re going to find anyone here in Parliament who would be willing to sign a sale of Greenland,” said Rasmus Jarlov, member of Denmark’s Folketing or parliament, and the chair of its defense committee. “It’s something we’re just not going to do.”
In the unlikely event of that changing, Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, a senior researcher, at the Danish Institute for International Studies, a Copenhagen-based think tank, said it was “important to emphasize that Denmark does not legally have the option to sell Greenland, because we don’t own Greenland.”
Any financial acquisition of Greenland would need congressional authorization and both Republicans and Democrats have shown little interest in providing the funding for such a purchase.
“What I hear from my constituents in Delaware is, they want us to be working on health care costs, housing costs, grocery costs, not trying to spend money buying a part of the Danish kingdom that we already have the right to work with them closely on security or on economic development,” Coons said.
Lawmakers on both sides of the House have said they would back legislation to rein in Trump’s ability to seize Greenland, as the fight goes on over war powers, which the Constitution grants to Congress. A House bill in support of annexing Greenland has also been introduced by Republican Rep. Randy Fine of Florida.
The congressional visit follows a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, between Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Danish officials said after that meeting they had not managed to change the U.S. administration’s position on acquiring Greenland.
The anxiety in Denmark remains palpable.
As she walked her dog Yoda in the early morning mist, Tina Toulson said she was still extremely worried over what Trump might be capable of, even with attempts by Congress to stand in his way.
“He will do anything,” she said. “I think there are no rules anymore. So I think that’s very terrifying.”
