President Trump has thrown an early morning tantrum, barking at NATO about dogsleds to try to justify his obsession with taking Greenland for the U.S.
In a Truth Social double-tap early on Wednesday morning, Trump re-launched his favorite dig at Denmark, saying it is ill-equipped to deal with phantom Russian and Chinese probes.
“NATO: Tell Denmark to get them out of here, NOW! Two dogsleds won’t do it! Only the USA can!!!” he said.
“Danish intel warned last year about Russian and Chinese military goals toward Greenland and Arctic,” he added, sharing a link to conservative outlet Just The News.
It followed an initial post around two hours earlier, saying that America needs the Danish island “for the purpose of National Security.”
“It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it,” Trump, 79, added in his pre-dawn post. The Golden Dome is a missile defense system inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome.
Congress last year approved nearly $25 billion for the Golden Dome under Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but the president has since returned to lawmakers seeking additional funding. The project remains in the early stages.
Trump, in his first Truth Social post on the topic that morning, shared his fears that another global power would take Greenland if the U.S. does not. “IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term, and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent - Not even close!” he ranted.
“They know that, and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT.”
It’s not the first time Trump has derided Denmark’s national defense apparatus, mocking the country on Sunday as he noodled around the idea of giving Greenlanders lump sum payments.
“I haven’t done that, but Greenland should make the deal because Greenland does not want to see Russia or China take over,” Trump said. “They don’t go there. It’s very far away from Greenland. And Greenland basically their defense is two dogsleds. Do you know that? You know what their defense is? Two dogsleds.”
Trump’s claims about looming hostile ships and Greenland only having “two dogsleds” were debunked by a fact check from the Associated Press on Tuesday.
“There are no Russian and Chinese ships all over the place around Greenland,” research director for Arctic and ocean politics at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute in Oslo, Norway, Andreas Østhagen, said. “Russia and/or China has no capacity to occupy Greenland or to take control over Greenland.”
As for the dogsleds, AP reports, “The Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, an elite Danish naval unit that conducts long-range reconnaissance and enforces Danish sovereignty in the Arctic wilderness, is stationed in Greenland. It’s a key part of the Danish military infrastructure in the inhospitable Arctic terrain, experts say.”
University of Southern California’s Steven Lamy, an international relations professor and Arctic security expert, told the agency, “transportation of the area is either by sea or by air. There are no highways. You can’t basically get in a car or a Bradley vehicle or tank or anything and go up there. So they have dog sleds.”
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks Wednesday with the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland about the acquisition of the Arctic island.
It comes after Trump dismissed comments from Greenland’s democratically elected leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, that his country wants to remain part of Denmark.
“Well, that’s their problem,” Trump said on Tuesday. “I disagree with him. I don’t know who he is, don’t know anything about him—but that’s going to be a big problem for him.”
However, Trump’s aggressive comments are only pushing Greenlanders further away, according to Politico. “People here are getting more and more concerned because Trump’s statements keep getting worse. It’s tearing on us,” said Avaaraq S. Olsen, the mayor of Nuuk, Greenland’s largest city.
Politico also reported that European officials are trying to cook up a way to make Trump think he’s won. “E.U. leaders are scrambling to come up with a deal on Greenland’s future that would allow Donald Trump to claim victory without destroying the alliance that underpins European security,” the title reports. Plans could include using NATO to bolster Arctic security, or giving the U.S. concessions on mineral extraction, it added.
On Tuesday, Senators introduced a bipartisan bill designed to prevent the American military from occupying NATO territories, according to the FT. The bill is led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
She is one of several Republicans to speak out about Trump’s naked desire to take Greenland by any means.
Murkowski will hold talks on Wednesday with Danish Ambassador Jesper Møller Sørensen. Later this week, she will join a bipartisan group of senators traveling to Denmark.
