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One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on Denmark by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Force Deemed Unnecessary

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to take over the Arctic territory because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” he incorrectly stated, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an extraordinary meeting to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller told CNN that dominion of the island could be gained without military intervention due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What is the basis of their ownership claim?” he asked.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to defend NATO, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no need to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

These statements followed Trump said over the weekend, following events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, urging Trump to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “This has represented the formal position of the US government since the start of this presidency... The president has been explicit about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following disclosures about historical policies of the local population.

But amid the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”