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One of Donald Trump’s top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be required to assume control of the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Denmark does not have a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

These remarks follow a period of increasing friction between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has convened an emergency session to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be achieved without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no need to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

Asked about the online image, he responded by stating: “It has been the official stance of the US government since the start of this presidency... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”