Donald Trump resurrected his threat to acquire Greenland after NATO countries refused his demand to intervene in the Iran war.
Trump, 79, on Wednesday wrote an all-caps message on Truth Social about the semi-autonomous Danish territory, the acquisition of which he has claimed is a necessity for U.S. national security.
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN. REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!” he wrote.
Trump’s post came 24 hours after a ceasefire between the U.S. and Israel and Iran—one which is currently filled with uncertainties, including about the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump had called on NATO members to wrest from Iranian control. But they didn’t, causing Trump to make yet another threat: pulling the U.S. out of NATO.
Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, is also considering pulling U.S. troops out of NATO countries. Such a plan could also include closing a U.S. base in Spain or Germany.
Trump appeared ready to act on Greenland, which is part of NATO, earlier this year. But NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, 58, dissuaded him at a January summit in Davos, Switzerland.
“The work of the Secretary General of NATO is always important. And when it’s manifested in the personality of Mark Rutte, who’s cool, calm, and collected, and is able to talk with the president of the United States, we should just be thankful that he’s our secretary general right now,” Finnish President Alexander Stubb told Reuters at the time.
With Rutte negotiating, Trump agreed to drop his threat of imposing tariffs on eight European allies. Also, Denmark would retain sovereignty under the arrangement.
Rutte, appearing on CNN Wednesday after meeting with Trump at the White House—but before his Truth Social post— said the president was “clearly disappointed” with NATO.
“Let me be absolutely clear: He is clearly disappointed, and with many NATO allies, and I can see his point,” Rutte said. “But at the same time, I was also able to point to the fact that the large majority of European nations have been helpful with basing, with logistics, with overflights, with making sure that they lived up to the commitments.”
“And, there is also widespread support for the fact that degrading the nuclear and the ballistic missile capacity from Iran was really crucial and that only the U.S. was able, at this point, to do that,” he continued. “And let‘s not forget there‘s there‘s Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, who‘s bringing together now a coalition of over 30 countries, even over 40, but 34 participated yesterday in a planning meeting with military leaders to make sure that free sea lanes—being able to use the Strait of Hormuz going forward—will be possible. So, I also pointed him to the positive, but clearly, this was a very frank, very open discussion, but also a discussion between two good friends.”
Trump’s Truth Social post is the first public indication from the president of his White House meeting with Rutte. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment.
After Rutte’s meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier Wednesday, Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement that “the two leaders discussed Operation Epic Fury, ongoing U.S.-led efforts to bring a negotiated end to the Russia-Ukraine war, and increasing coordination and burden shifting with NATO Allies.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters before the meeting that NATO had “failed” America.
“I have a direct quote from the president of the United States on NATO, and I will share it with all of you. They were tested, and they failed,” Leavitt said. “I would add, it’s quite sad that NATO turned their backs on the American people over the course of the last six weeks, when it’s the American people who have been funding their defence.”
Leavitt said Trump was ready for “a very frank and candid conversation” with Rutte, who later told CNN his experience was “frank and open.”
