Americans Broadly Oppose Taking Greenland by Force

This article is published in collaboration with Statista

by Felix Richter

Greenlandic leaders were enraged by a planned trip of a U.S. delegation to Greenland this week. The delegation led by second lady Usha Vance will include White House national security advisor Mike Waltz and energy secretary Chris Wright and is scheduled to tour a U.S. military base, attend a dogsled race and visit cultural sites.

While the visit aiming to “celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations," according to Vance, sounds innocent enough on paper, it wasn’t perceived that way in Greenland. In light of repeated comments made by President Donald Trump’s on his intent to take control of the autonomous territory currently belonging to Denmark, Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede called the visit “highly aggressive” and “a provocation,” taking particular offense in the involvement of Mr. Waltz. "What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland?” Egede asked. "The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us." Mette Frederiksen, prime minister of Denmark, said that the visit couldn’t be “seen in isolation of the public statements that have been made.”

Earlier this month, in his first address to Congress, Trump had reiterated his desire to control Greenland for “national security and even international security,” while also addressing the “incredible people of Greenland” directly. Aside from promising them safety, wealth and the right to determine their own future, his comments also contained the thinly-veiled threat that the U.S. would “get” Greenland “one way or the other.”

The U.S. taking control of Greenland “the other way”, i.e. through military force, is highly unlikely, though, given that Denmark is a NATO member and an attack on its sovereignty would shake up the world order. Such a drastic move also wouldn’t be backed by the American public, a recent poll shows. According to the survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of The Economist, 69 percent of U.S. adults are opposed to the U.S. taking control of Greenland by force, while just 11 percent of respondents support it. Even among Republicans, the idea is broadly rejected, with 57 percent of Republican respondents saying they oppose it.

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