A security expert has warned that US President Donald Trump could set his sights on a country within Europe if the USA successfully takes Greenland from Denmark
Donald Trump could target another European country if he decides to take Greenland from Denmark, an expert has warned.
Despite JD Vance’s catastrophic visit to the Danish territory with his wife Usha, which seemingly alienated Greenlanders more than improve relations, the Trump administration shows no sign of backing down on its desire to see America’s borders expanded.
Already this year, Trump has expressed a desire to make Canada America’s 51st state. And he has also claimed he needs to take over Greenland, geographically classed as North America but politically owned by Denmark, to secure America’s borders in the North Atlantic.
Unsurprisingly, this hasn’t gone down well with Greelanders, with outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede calling Vance’s recent trip “aggressive” and a recent BBC survey finding locals want the country to themselves.
But if Trump does successfully take Greenland from NATO-ally Denmark he may set his sights on Iceland, a country that sits less than 750 miles from Greenland’s eastern tip.
Speaking to the Mirror about the matter, the University of East London’s Professor John Strawson warned that “anything was possible” when it came to Trump’s geopolitical movements.
He said: “Iceland might in the future become an issue but that I suspect would be more in the context of strengthening Arctic Defense. However, as we know Donald Trump is also interested in vital minerals and that could be a factor. With this Administration anything is possible.”
Professor Strawson said that Trump may avoid an “invasion” of Greenland as it might run the risk of giving China the green light to invade Taiwan.
He explained: “I would say a direct attack on Greenland is unlikely, as that would set a precedent that the Chinese might think gives them the green light to attack Taiwan.”
This isn’t the first time Trump’s imperial intentions have been highlighted, with former justice secretary David Gauke claiming they may be driven not just by driven but by the president’s morality.
The former MP for South West Hertfordshire wrote in the New Statesman: “Trump is an old man in a hurry, keen to establish his place in history. Territorial expansion appears to be the means to do so, like a latter-day Alexander the Great. For Egypt and Persia, read Canada and Greenland.”
He also supposed that the reason Trump is kinder to former enemies than current allies was to do with the fact that America’s allies, for the moment, have more to lose.
David said: “There is a reason Trump is kinder to America’s traditional adversaries than its traditional allies – the latter have more to lose and, therefore, are more easily exploited and extorted.
“As a businessman, Trump did not succeed by building trust and optimising the value of relationships but by using every lever he had to obtain the largest share of the spoils. His ethos was screw the little guy. US allies can expect nothing better.”
As with most such prognostications about Donald Trump we can never really know what the man running an increasingly authoritarian administration is going to do until pen is to paper on and the tanks start rolling.
However, as the rift between America and the free world deepens, the likelihood of the unthinkable becomes an even greater possibility.
