WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s insistence that the U.S. needs control of Greenland is drawing fierce reaction on Capitol Hill, including skepticism from top Republicans, as the White House shows no signs of backing off the idea.
In the latest show of force on the notion from the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at Wednesday’s media briefing that a potential purchase of the Arctic island by the U.S. is “currently being actively discussed by the president and his national security team.” She went on to make the case that the U.S. acquiring Greenland is not a “new idea” and has been talked about under past presidents, reiterating Trump’s position that the U.S. needs it in order to counter China and Russia’s influence in the Arctic.
It came a day after the White House declared that use of the “military is always an option” in regards to the strategically positioned island, even as the Danish prime minister this week said a U.S. takeover would usher in the end of NATO.
Leavitt explained the statement Wednesday as a general effort not to rule anything in or out and broadcast the administration’s foreign policy strategy to the “rest of the world.”
“All options are always on the table,” she added.
At the same time, Leavitt said Trump’s first preferred choice “always” is diplomacy.
The self-governing island is a territory of Denmark, which is in the NATO alliance. The recent escalating rhetoric around the island sparked the leaders of Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom to join together to issue a joint statement Tuesday declaring Greenland “belongs to its people.”
In what appeared to be a response to the continued back-and-forth, Trump took to Truth Social on Wednesday to insist that the U.S. “will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us.” In the same post, he argued that China and Russia have “ZERO FEAR” of NATO without the U.S.
“The only Nation that China and Russia fear and respect is the DJT REBUILT U.S.A.,” he wrote.
Trump has been pushing the idea of taking control of Greenland since before he retook office for a second time and has mentioned it at different points upon his return. But his renewed declaration that the U.S. needs it “from the standpoint of national security,” and the White House’s repeated doubling down on the statement this week, has taken on new meaning in the wake of the ousting of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, sparking passionate responses from lawmakers in Washington.
Some Republicans are backing Trump on the notion, with Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, a vocal critic of NATO, responding to the Danish prime minister’s warning about the end of the military alliance by writing, “Is that a dare?” in a post on X.
Republican Rep. Brian Mast of Florida, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, meanwhile, forcefully defended to reporters the idea of never taking military action off the table.
Other Republicans, however, have expressed major reservations about the prospect. Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, for instance, called it “dumb” in a post on X, adding that there is “no up side to demeaning our friends.” The retiring Nebraska Republican also referred to the statement from European leaders this week as “embarrassing for the U.S.” in a separate post.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska urged the administration to focus on “continued partnership” with Greenland “rather than possession.”
“I continue to hope the administration’s rhetoric on Greenland is nothing more than posturing for a new era of cooperation, because any effort to claim or take the territory by force would degrade both our national security and our international relationships,” she wrote.
And the party’s two top leaders on the Hill, Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana in the House and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota in the Senate, are both taking a cautious approach to the issue. While neither has spoken against the idea, both leaders appear to be dismissing the notion that it is a real possibility, with Johnson telling reporters Wednesday that he doesn’t think anyone is “seriously considering” military action.
Democrats, on the other hand — many of whom are already expressing outrage over the Trump administration’s strike in Venezuela and removal of Maduro without congressional sign-off — are fuming over the Greenland situation.
“WAKE UP. Trump is telling us exactly what he wants to do,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., wrote in a post on X. “We must stop him before he invades another country on a whim.”
The Arizona Democrat is vowing to introduce a war powers resolution to block Trump from being able to take action in Greenland without Congress weighing in. However, the full Senate, where Republicans have a majority, has already shot down multiple attempts by Democrats to pass war powers resolutions as it pertained to Venezuela before Maduro’s capture. It is expected to consider another one again this week.