A bad and a good piece of news.
That’s what the past 24 hours have brought regarding the threat of American acquisition of Greenland.
Let’s start with the bad news. At the daily press briefing at the White House on Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt used the word acquire when discussing the meeting between Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Greenland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Motzfeldt, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
»The parties agreed to form a working group to conduct technical talks about acquiring Greenland.«
It didn’t take long after the press briefing for reactions to come from both Denmark and Greenland. It was almost like diplomatic synchronized swimming, as both Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M) and Greenlandic MP Aaja Chemnitz (IA) pointed out that the U.S. had misrepresented the working group’s task.
The group is supposed to look at security in Greenland. Security is precisely what Trump keeps referring to when asked about the fuss over Greenland. Neither Denmark nor Greenland will accept acquisition.
Changed Strategy
The swift reactions indicate a markedly changed strategy. A year ago, the hope was that Trump’s idea of acquisition could be ignored, and if anything had to be said, it was done cautiously to avoid provoking Trump’s vanity. No one believes that’s sustainable anymore. Therefore, politicians from the Kingdom of Denmark are now contradicting Trump and his press team when incorrect statements are made. Still subdued and toned down, but with a clear addressing of false claims.
That was the bad news. It’s truly unfortunate for future developments that Trump’s press secretary misrepresented the working group’s task. It also shows that Leavitt either wasn’t briefed correctly about the meeting, or more likely, her boss was briefed but chose to hear what he wanted to hear, as usual. It could also be that Vance and Rubio lacked the courage and chose to echo their boss instead of accurately conveying what was said at the meeting.
Løkke on Fox
But there’s a silver lining that Denmark’s foreign minister and a Greenlandic MP reacted swiftly and weren’t afraid to speak out. They dare, where many previously remained silent, to paraphrase an old advertising slogan for Ekstra Bladet (De tør, hvor der før var mange, der tiede).
Therefore, a crucial part of Løkke’s effort during his trip to the U.S. was appearing on Fox News, Trump and many of his voters’ preferred news outlet. Here, Løkke successfully challenged some of the many false claims that flow from the American president’s keyboard and lips when he writes or speaks about Greenland.
Moreover, the quick statements reflect that despite disagreements along the way, Denmark and Greenland have managed to stand united against the U.S. Leavitt’s statements finally show, as Løkke also emphasizes in his reaction, that it will be difficult to change Trump’s security policy goals, which are incompatible with the Kingdom of Denmark as we know it today.
Quiet from Trump
Leavitt’s erroneous representation shouldn’t overshadow the good news. Since Trump was briefed about the meeting late Wednesday Danish time until now, he hasn’t written about Denmark or Greenland on Truth Social.
The same goes for Vance and Rubio. It’s noteworthy because Vance previously hasn’t held back from criticizing Denmark in tweets and interviews.
It’s not that Trump hasn’t commented on other matters. He found time to lash out at California, whose governor, Democrat Gavin Newsom, is one of Trump’s favorite targets lately. He also criticized the leadership of Minneapolis, which is in turmoil after an ICE agent shot 37-year-old Renee Good. And he issued threats against Iran, to name a few topics Trump has addressed.
Toned-down Signals
American media – including The New York Times – have noted that the signals have changed from before the meeting on Wednesday to after. Before the meeting, there were several aggressive posts where Trump wrote that Denmark and NATO should help the U.S. take over Greenland.
But after the meeting, the tone was more conciliatory. When a reporter asked Trump on Wednesday if he would make good on his often-repeated threat to use force to conquer Greenland, he almost distanced himself from his own words and replied:
»You say that. I didn’t say that.«
It probably requires deep psychological expertise, which few possess, to assess what the pause in Trump’s Truth Social posts and statements about Greenland is due to. It could simply reflect that the discussion about Greenland in American media has moved further down the media agenda, as the dramatic developments in Iran and Minneapolis have moved up.
The coming days and weeks will show whether the conflict between Denmark and Greenland on one side and the U.S. on the other has genuinely been de-escalated. If it has, it will be good news that far overshadows Leavitt’s statement.
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