Denmark has accused President Donald Trump and his administration of carrying out a secret influence campaign in Greenland to promote secession from Denmark to the U.S.
The country’s foreign minister summoned the top U.S. diplomat to Copenhagen after Denmark’s main national broadcaster reported that at least three Americans with ties to Trump had been identified in connection with the covert operation.
State broadcaster DR said it knows the names of the operatives but decided not to reveal them. It also said its information on Trump’s covert campaign came from eight sources and that Danish intelligence services had uncovered the “influence operations” aimed at causing a rift between Denmark and its territory.
The Trump administration’s response? A White House official would not confirm the operation but did say, “We think the Danes need to calm down,” according to the BBC.
The State Department did confirm in a statement that Deputy Chief of Mission in Copenhagen Mark Stroh had met with Danish officials, but said, in terms of the alleged influence campaign, it would not comment “on the actions of private U.S. citizens in Greenland.”
“The U.S. government does not control or direct the actions of private citizens,” it said.
State Department Officials said Stroh had “a productive conversation and reaffirmed the strong ties among the Government of Greenland, the United States, and Denmark,” NPR reported.
The statement went on to say the U.S. relationship with Denmark and NATO is a valuable one and that Trump and his top officials have all said they respect “the right of the people of Greenland to determine their own future.”
“We continue to foster engagement and cooperation with Denmark and Greenland to support increased security and prosperity for our nations,” it said.
Trump has said repeatedly he wants Greenland and has not ruled out military action to take control of the semiautonomous, mineral-rich Arctic Island.
Denmark and Greenland have rebuffed Trump’s stated goals and said the island is not for sale. They also condemned reports of U.S. intelligence gathering operations there, according to NPR.
The report alleged that one of those involved in the covert campaign created a list of U.S.-friendly Greenlanders and the names of anti-Trumpers. They also gathered information from locals that could be used against Denmark by American media.
The report also found two other people with ties to Trump tried to develop contacts with politicians and businesses.
Social media users had a lot to say about the operation,
“Trump and the Republican Party are Russian assets and traitors to this country,” Terri Gorler stated on Threads.
Another Threads user blamed Republicans for going along with Trump’s scheming.
“Dear Republicans, Really? This is what the current administration is doing (and doing badly)? They are attempting to infiltrate Greenland’s society to convince people to ‘sell’ Greenland to the U.S., and you’re okay with that? How does this not violate international law and our Constitution? Sincerely, A Pissed Off American.”
“So not shocked,” Colleen Lane chimed in.
This Threads user didn’t hold back and used a phrase Trump repeatedly used on the campaign trail in 2016 against his opponent, Hillary Clinton, over emails she had stored insecurely.
“Lock them the f#ck up.”
