Trump floats levies over Greenland as Denmark lobbies Congress

President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on goods from nations that oppose his push to take control of Greenland, stepping up his rhetoric while Denmark hosted U.S. lawmakers on its home turf following meetings in Washington this week.

“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a White House event on health care, without providing further details.

Trump has sought to use his sweeping tariff agenda to pressure other nations to make economic concessions and align themselves with his foreign policy priorities, and on Friday signaled he would include Greenland in that push. The president earlier this week threatened to impose 25% tariffs on goods from countries that trade with Iran, but has yet to follow through.

At the same time, a group of U.S. senators and representatives met lawmakers in the Danish parliament on Friday, with protests against Trump’s plans due across Denmark on Saturday. Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, a veteran of Arctic affairs who has emerged as one of the most prominent congressional critics of Trump’s Greenland ambitions, underscored that a majority of Americans are opposed to acquiring the polar territory.

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski told reporters in Copenhagen. “And I think that’s what you’re hearing with this delegation.”

The trip follows a week of meetings in Washington by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen with members of Congress on the heels of talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, also participated.

Denmark and Greenland seek support from Capitol Hill that could help constrain any future moves by the White House to threaten Greenland, given lawmakers’ control over federal spending. Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat representing Delaware, who led the delegation to Copenhagen, said Friday’s talks were “good and robust.”

“We spoke with clarity about the importance that the people of Greenland make their decisions about their future,” Coons said. “It was a constructive and hopeful dialogue, and we look forward to continuing.”

Denmark and Greenland remain in a stalemate with the U.S. over the future of the world’s largest island, though officials this week agreed to set up a working group to manage the diplomatic dispute. Trump has repeatedly insisted the U.S. needs to control the territory, an ambition that remains unresolved and has been rejected time and again by Danes and Greenlanders.

On Saturday, several thousand people are expected to take to the streets of Copenhagen to protest against Trump’s ambitions. First planned for only the capital, rallies are also due in three major Danish cities and Nuuk.

Earlier this week, Murkowski and New Hampshire Democrat Jeanne Shaheen introduced legislation that would bar the use of U.S. government funds to occupy or annex the territory of a NATO member state without its consent.

“We are operating in times where we’re having conversations about things that we never thought even possible,” Murkowski told reporters Wednesday in Washington, D.C., following a meeting with the Danish and Greenlandic foreign ministers.

“It’s important to send the message that here in the Congress we recognize and support the sovereignty of the people of Greenland, that we show respect for them as a people,” she said.

Trump could veto the legislation even if it passes Congress. Still, Congress can impose restrictions on how Trump can use federal funds when it passes annual spending packages for the US government.

Asked by reporters on Thursday whether the bill was symbolic or could actually be used to stop Trump from attacking Greenland, Shaheen said that “it’s important to express the bipartisan support for NATO and for the relationship with Denmark and Greenland. And that’s what the legislation does.”

Meanwhile European countries are sending military staff to Greenland. Some had already arrived and more were due on Friday. Germany’s contingent was increased to 15, and others dispatching personnel include France, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands. They’re preparing for a military exercise that is intended to become permanent, Denmark has said.

The decision to dispatch reinforcements to the Arctic territory as early as this week highlights the urgency with which European nations seek to respond to US threats over Greenland, with Trump repeatedly stating the US needs the land for national security. The a semi-autonomous territory is covered under NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause as it’s part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

That’s why it’s also “in principle is covered by the mutual solidarity clause in article 42.7 of the Treaty on European Union,” European Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper said on Thursday.

There is strong support for the transatlantic alliance within the Republican party’s establishment wing, particularly in the US Senate. Still, most Republican lawmakers have been reluctant to directly challenge Trump.

Former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell warned Trump in a Senate floor speech Wednesday against “incinerating the hard-won trust of loyal allies” by taking actions to seize Greenland from NATO ally Denmark.

“This is about more than Greenland. It’s about more than America’s relationship with its highly capable Nordic allies. It’s about whether the United States intends to face a constellation of strategic adversaries with capable friends ... or commit an unprecedented act of strategic self-harm and go it alone,” McConnell said.

The bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation also included North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis and Illinois Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin. Reps. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat, Madeleine Dean a Pennsylvania Democrat, Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat and Sarah McBride, a Delaware Democrat, were also attending.

Rasmussen, the Danish foreign minister, hosted almost 40 house members at the embassy for dinner on Wednesday.

Lawmakers he’s spoken to “recognize that the kingdom of Denmark and U.S. are close allies, we have had uninterrupted relations for 225 years,” Rasmussen said. “The U.S. has no ally with a longer uninterrupted relationship and we should build on that.”

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(With assistance from Mike Dorning, Jamie Tarabay, Jorge Valero, Kate Sullivan, Catherine Lucey and Jordan Fabian.)