President Donald Trump claimed that no other country could defend Greenland but the United States, but claimed he wouldn’t use force amid his continued efforts to take control of the Denmark-controlled territory during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday (January 21).
“I have tremendous respect for both the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark, tremendous respect. But every NATO ally has an obligation to be able to defend their own territory, and the fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States. We’re a great power,” Trump said via ABC News.
The president claimed that the territory was “sitting undefended” and that he planned to seek “immediate negotiations to once again discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States,” but clarified that he wouldn’t use military force.
“That’s probably the biggest statement I made, because people thought I would use force,” he said of his earlier comments that he wouldn’t “rule out” military force,” Trump said via the New York Post. “I don’t have to use force. I don’t want to use force. I won’t use force.”
“All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland,” he added.
Earlier this month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed in a statement to CNN that Trump was “discussing a range of options” to acquire Greenland and hadn’t ruled out the use of military in doing so.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” Leavitt said. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
Leavitt’s statement followed Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who told lawmakers that the Trump administration was considering buying Greenland while downplaying concerns about potential military intervention this week, two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CNN. Trump has long had aspirations related to acquiring Greenland, specifically early in his second administration, and officials reportedly continued to discuss the situation behind the scenes, despite it not being mentioned as frequent publicly in recent months.
The State Department reportedly provided analysis of untapped resources in Greenland at the request of Rubio’s team, which included rare earths, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to CNN. Trump has since revamped interest in expansionist foreign policy in the days following the United States’ capture of Maduro.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on January 4, one day after Maduro was captured.
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