President Donald Trump set out to look tough and in control this week — but the more he talked, the more it sounded like he was borrowing someone else’s playbook..
While speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, Trump was pressed on his administration’s latest foreign-policy posture, and his answers quickly sparked backlash.
“Have you made a tangible offer to Greenland yet? Have you made an actual offer to Denmark,” a reporter asked.
“I haven’t done that,” Trump began before immediately contradicting himself. “Greenland should make the deal because Greenland does not want to see Russia or China take over,” he said. “Basically, their defense is two dog sleds. You know that? You know what their defense is? Two dog sleds.”
As another question comes in, Trump cuts it off — and lets something slip that seems to register with everyone except him.
“… if it affects NATO, then it affects NATO. But, you know, they need us more than we need them,” he said, once again brushing aside concerns about what his words could actually set in motion.
But for many watching, the remark felt less like tough talk and more like a familiar signal — one that echoed the priorities of a rival power that has long sought to weaken the Western alliance.
“Again: ending NATO is a Putin goal. That is no coincidence,” one person wrote.
Another didn’t mince words, adding, “What part in history will reveal he works for Putin and is his b*tch. Good chance he’s a pedo too.”
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Others drew a direct line between Trump’s recent comments, his threats toward Greenland, and the broader implications for U.S. alliances.
“Trump is threatening to take over Greenland. That will end our NATO alliance. Trump is carrying out Putin’s objectives. Trump is tag teaming NATO,” one user wrote in a lengthy post ending with “TRUMP. MUST. BE. STOPPED!”
“Republicans, why are you letting this happen?” asked a furious viewer.
Days earlier during a White House roundtable with more than a dozen oil executives, Trump responded to questions about how much money the United States might offer Greenlanders to support a possible takeover. And he made it clear that consent was not central to his thinking.
“I’m not talking about money for Greenland yet,” Trump said. “I might talk about that, but right now we are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don’t do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland, and we’re not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor.”
Trump did not acknowledge that Russia already borders the United States across the Bering Strait. As reporters pressed him further, Trump escalated his rhetoric while attempting to soften it with praise for Denmark.
“I would like to make a deal the easy way, but if we don’t do it the easy way, we’re going to do it the hard way. And by the way, I’m a fan of Denmark too. I have to tell you, and they’ve been very nice to me. I’m a big fan, but the fact that they had a boat land there 500 years ago doesn’t mean that they own the land,” he said.
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The remarks immediately drew a flood of criticism online, not only for the implied threat of force against a NATO ally, but also for Trump’s assertion that the U.S. would not tolerate Russia as a neighbor—despite the two countries already being separated by just a few miles of water.
Critics wasted little time pointing out the contradiction.
“Geography is obviously not this super genius’ strong suit,” said one who shared a map of the region. “We’re 2.4 miles apart from each other.”
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Many framed Trump’s statements as a direct threat against NATO.
“The rest of the UN needs to do something,” one person insisted. “Europe needs to sanction him. Take his golf courses, freeze his assets, issue an arrest warrant. F—king do something.”
Another asked, “Where the hell is the U.S. military who swore an oath to defend the Constitution?”
Greenland’s political leadership responded decisively. In a joint statement issued after Trump again refused to rule out force, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and four party leaders rejected the premise of a U.S. takeover.
“We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be Danes, we want to be Greenlanders,” they declared.
In the midst of the escalating threats, Denmark and Greenland’s foreign ministers are set to meet with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House on Wednesday.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt requested the meeting in hopes of having an opportunity “where we can look each other in the eye and talk about these things.”
Rasmussen confirmed that Vance asked to join the talks and will host the meeting in Washington.
