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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has increased tensions on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically the use of armed force would not be needed to take over the Arctic territory because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks come amid increasing friction between the US and Denmark after the American leader's repeated interest to annex Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an emergency session to discuss the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be achieved without military intervention due to its small population.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What legal foundation of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

Global Responses

These statements followed Trump said over the weekend, following other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “urgently”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the end of the defensive pact and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, calling on the US president to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the social media post, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the start of this presidency... The president has been very clear about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been growing support for self-rule, particularly after revelations about historical policies of the local population.

But amid the spectre of acquisition talk, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its agreement stating: “Greenland belongs to us.”