Authoritarianism expert Ruth Ben-Ghiat slammed Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday over two words he appeared to flippantly use while discussing Donald Trump\u2019s long-running criticism of NATO and talk of the U.S. seizing control of Greenland.<\/p>\n
Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) asked Rubio as he testified in front of the House Foreign Affairs Committee:\u00a0\u201cAnd I assume that you are aware that Greenland is indeed part of Denmark?\u201d<\/p>\n
Politics: Trump Posts 3 Strange Images In A Single Minute Just Before Midnight<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cFor now,\u201d Rubio replied, accompanied by what appeared to be a slight smirk.<\/p>\n Ben-Ghiat, a New York University history professor and author of \u201cStrongmen: Mussolini to the Present,\u201d fired back on X:\u00a0\u201cLawless plunderers are in control of the U.S. government.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI warned about Trump\u2019s desire to \u2018get\u2019 Greenland in my book #Strongmen. Rubio is just the latest enabler,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost<\/a>.<\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of the United States taking control of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, and has refused to rule out using economic or military pressure to achieve it.<\/p>\n The president has also hyped up turning Canada and Venezuela into U.S. states.<\/p>\n