Donald Trump’s escalating calls for the United States to seize or seize Greenland have drawn fresh criticism from the president’s Republican Party, with some saying it could hurt the United States economically or strain the NATO military alliance.
Among those Republicans were US Senators Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, who were part of a bipartisan group that traveled to Denmark to discuss concerns in Greenland, an autonomous Danish region.
Both Tillis and Murkowski strongly criticized the new tariffs that Trump threatened on Saturday on a slew of European countries — including Denmark, Germany, France and the United Kingdom — until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland.
Murkowski Written on X That the tariffs were “unnecessary, punitive and a huge mistake,” following NATO allies Deployed forces in Greenland on Thursday in response to Trump’s threats to seize control of the Arctic island by force if necessary.
“They will push our key European allies away while doing nothing to strengthen American national security,” Murkowski asserted. “We are already seeing the consequences of these measures in real time: our NATO allies are forced to shift attention and resources to Greenland, a dynamic that plays out directly.” [Russian leader Vladimir] “Putin’s hand threatens the stability of the most powerful alliance of democracies the world has ever seen.”
She urged Congress to exercise its authority over tariffs to ensure “they are not weaponized in ways that harm our alliances and undermine American leadership.”
For his part, Telles said: Written on X“This response to our allies sending a small number of troops to Greenland for training is bad for America, bad for American companies, and bad for America’s allies. It’s great for Putin,” [Chinese leader] something [Jiping] And other adversaries who want to see NATO divided.
“Actively pushing for coercive measures to seize an ally’s territory is beyond stupid,” Tillis added.
“This damages President Trump’s legacy and undermines all the work he has done to strengthen NATO over the years,” Tillis stressed.
Mike Pence, US Vice President during Trump’s first term in the White House, said separately that he believes “the current situation… threatens to break that strong relationship, not just with Denmark, but with all of our NATO allies.”
“Denmark is a very strong ally of the United States of America,” Pence said. He said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union.
Meanwhile, Republican US Representative Michael McCaul expressed similar concerns, warning that US military intervention in Greenland would likely spell disaster for NATO.
Appearance on ABC this week“The reality is that the president has full military access to Greenland to protect us from any threat” that could materialize on the Arctic island, McCaul said.
“So, if he wants to buy Greenland, that’s one thing,” he continued. “But for him, a military invasion would turn NATO upside down and, in essence, push for war with NATO itself. It would end up abolishing NATO as we know it.”
Trump has repeatedly argued that US control of the island is necessary for national security, citing concerns about Russia and China expanding their influence in the Arctic. That is why he has repeatedly proposed multiple ways to acquire Greenland, ranging from purchasing territory to the possibility of military seizure.
During his Sunday appearance on NBC Learn about journalismUS Republican Senator Rand Paul commented that it was “ridiculous” to portray Greenland as an urgent situation.
“There is no emergency in Greenland,” Paul said.
Trump has insisted that Denmark cannot be relied upon to protect Greenland in the event of a confrontation with China or Russia, even as he also said that “something will work out” regarding the future governance of the Danish territory.
The goal of the bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers who traveled to meet with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was to underscore Republican opposition to any suggestion that the United States should forcefully seize Greenland.
Ballot It also shows that a large majority of Americans oppose control of the island.
However, former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich was one of the Republicans who seemed uninterested in Trump’s approach.
Gingrich went to the Cats Roundtable on Sunday Radio program He described Trump’s position with Greenland as “a lot of hype for negotiations to get what he wants.”
These are “tourism rights, economic rights, mineral rights, and national security rights,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich noted Greenland’s abundance of natural resources and noted that China, Russia and the United States have an interest in accessing its minerals. He also described Greenland’s oil and gas reserves as a “tremendous economic opportunity.”