Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) blasted President Donald Trump‘s ambitions to seize Greenland as “ill-advised threats” that would be “an unprecedented act of strategic self-harm.”
As Trump continues to discuss his hopes of obtaining Greenland from NATO ally Denmark, McConnell ripped the idea in his Senate floor speech on Wednesday. McConnell warned that “close ties with our northernmost allies are what make America’s extensive reach in the Arctic actually possible” and cautioned against the administration disrupting this relationship.
“Unless and until the president can demonstrate otherwise, then the proposition at hand today is pretty straightforward, incinerating the hard-won trust of loyal allies in exchange for no meaningful change in U.S. access to the Arctic,” McConnell said.
He warned that “all of the good progress the president has made in” encouraging allies to increase their spending on defense “would be for nothing if his administration’s ill-advised threats about Greenland were to shatter the trust of our allies.”
McConnell cautioned that “following through on this provocation would be more disastrous for the president’s legacy than withdrawing from Afghanistan was for” former President Joe Biden, a withdrawal widely criticized
“This is about more than Greenland. It’s about more than America’s relationship with its highly capable Nordic allies. It’s about whether the United States intends to face a constellation of strategic adversaries with capable friends or commit an unprecedented act of strategic self-harm to choose to go it alone,” McConnell said.
McConnell’s comments came hours before Trump fielded questions from reporters on his ambitions regarding Greenland, including a question from one reporter asking Trump if he would leave NATO to acquire Greenland.
“I wouldn’t be telling you what I’m willing to do. Certainly, I’m not going to give up options. But it’s very important. Greenland is very important for national security, including of Denmark. And the problem is, there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do,” Trump said.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with diplomats from Denmark and Greenland at the White House on Wednesday. Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after the meeting that there is “definitely a new security situation in the Arctic” but said the two delegations disagree on the future of Greenland.
DENMARK AND US CREATE WORKING GROUP FOR ‘FUNDAMENTAL DISAGREEMENT’ ON GREENLAND
“The big difference is whether that must lead to a situation where the U.S. must acquire Greenland, and that is absolutely not necessary,” Rasmussen said.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday in the Oval Office, “I think something will work out.”