Trump threatens to impose tariffs on everyone who opposes his annexation of Greenland.

 

The US ambassador believes a deal to seize the island "should and will be made," while the president increases pressure on European allies. 

Donald Trump has increased pressure on European partners who have opposed his attempt to acquire Greenland by threatening to slap taxes on nations that do not "go along" with his proposal. 

Following a tense week in which NATO allies sent soldiers to the Danish kingdom's largely autonomous region, the US president declared he might use force to punish nations that oppose his intentions to annex Greenland. 

Earlier, while a US congressional delegation traveled to Copenhagen in support of Denmark and Greenland, Trump's personal envoy to Greenland stated that a deal for Washington to seize the island "should and will be made."

 

According to Jeff Landry, the US president "is serious" about purchasing the Arctic island, and he intends to travel to Greenland in March. 

In a show of solidarity against Trump's threats of military intervention, the bipartisan group of 11 members of the House and Senate, which included Democratic senator Chris Coons and Republican senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, traveled to Denmark's capital to meet with Danish and Greenlandic leaders Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen. 

In the midst of Iran's harsh crackdown, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of incarcerations, Trump has threatened tariffs twice this week, threatening to slap a 25% tax on goods into the US from nations that conduct business with Iran. 

During a comprehensive 45-minute largely unbroken speech on Friday at a crowded rural healthcare event in the White House East Room, Trump brought up the topic of tariffs. 

In front of parliamentarians, medical professionals, and influential politicians, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on nations that refused to "go along with Greenland because we need Greenland for national security. 

He cited threats he made against European partners on drug prices, recalling telling French President Emmanuel Macron, "You have to get your drug prices up," and threatening France and Germany with 25% tariffs if they did not pay more for prescription drugs.

He wondered if he might apply the same strategy to Denmark and "may do that for Greenland too."

His remarks followed Landry's statement to Fox News that "I do believe that there's a deal that should and will be made once this plays out." 

"The president is serious," he continued. I believe he has placed the markers. 

"Now that he's told Denmark what he wants, Secretary Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance need to come to an agreement."

Denmark declared that it will contribute to Greenland's emergency readiness.

"It is important that we stand together," stated Torsten Schack Pedersen, Denmark's minister of emergency preparedness and public safety.

Greenland's minister of fisheries, hunting, agriculture, self-sufficiency, and the environment, Peter Borg, stated that his government "appreciates the support from Denmark to strengthen preparedness in Greenland."

Greenlanders in Nuuk, the country's capital, reported last week that they were scanning the skies and seas themselves because they were so terrified of the US threat. Many claimed they had been left to devise their own preparations for what to do in the event of an emergency evacuation or capture by US forces due to the lack of emergency planning assistance from officials.

The US congressmen were scheduled to meet Frederiksen and Nielsen, as well as other Danish and Greenlandic officials, during the congressional visit to Denmark, during which the Greenlandic flag, Erfalasorput, was flown at Christiansborg Palace. 

"Keep the faith," Democrat Steny Hoyer said TV 2 as he arrived at a lunch meeting at the Confederation of Danish Industry. There are a lot of people with you. 

Coons hailed Denmark for "225 years of being a good and trusted ally and partner" during a joint news conference. He also stated that they had a "strong and robust" conversation about how to maintain their partnership going forward. 

In conversations about Greenland, he claimed that "there's a lot of rhetoric but not a lot of reality" in Washington. He continued by saying that they wanted to try to "lower the temperature" and have a "constructive dialogue" back home using the knowledge they learned from the visit. 

"Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset," Murkowski added, adding that most Americans opposed US annexation of Greenland. 

Following Wednesday's highly anticipated meeting between US Vice President Vance, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, the two sides provided radically different interpretations of what was decided. 

A team from Denmark and Greenland had decided to "continue to have technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland," according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday. 

However, the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland, respectively, Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Vivian Motzfeldt, refuted her assertions. 

Rasmussen stated that although they had not reached such a deal, they had established a working group to look into the possibility of "accommodating" US security desires for the Arctic.

"There is a lot of work ahead, the situation is still very uncertain, but we have a new channel, a place where we can talk directly to each other," Motzfeldt told the Greenland newspaper Sermitsiaq, adding that Leavitt had not attended the meeting. 

As foreign troops began to arrive in Greenland from all around Europe on Thursday, Frederiksen stated that the defense of Greenland was a "common concern" for NATO. 

The reconnaissance mission will determine whether it would be feasible to send Eurofighter aircraft to the area, according to a German defense ministry official on Friday. 

The spokeswoman stated, "It is a matter of looking at whether the Arctic is secure and to what extent we can contribute to this together with our NATO partners."