US Treasury Secretary: Europe Lacks Strength for Greenland's Security

US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said that Europe was too weak to guarantee Greenland’s security, as the US refused to back down on its demand to take control of the strategically important island. Speaking on NBC News, Bessent insisted that the US must acquire the Danish territory and accused Europe of being unable to protect the land in the face of Russian or Chinese aggression. “Europeans project weakness, US projects strength,” he said. “The president believes enhanced security is not possible without Greenland being part of the US.” Trump on Saturday said he would impose 10 per cent tariffs from next month on eight European countries, including the UK, to punish them for opposing Washington’s expansionist efforts. The move prompted outrage from America’s transatlantic allies and has opened the deepest rift in Nato since its inception. Bessent defended hitting the countries — France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland — with fresh duties, even though it could upend recent trade deals with the UK and EU. “The trade deal hasn’t been finalised,” said Bessent, referring to the US agreement with the EU. “And, you know, an emergency action can be very different from another trade deal.” The Treasury secretary insisted that the new levies should not make countries distrust the US, and said the US president was being “strategic”. “Always live in the moment,” he added. On Sunday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for the EU to activate its most potent trade weapon, the so-called anti-coercion instrument, against the US. The tool, which was adopted in 2023 but has never been used, would allow the EU to respond to instances of “economic coercion” by other countries with its retaliatory measures. Despite Trump’s efforts to pressure Denmark, a Nato member, into handing over its territory to Washington, Bessent said the US intended to remain a member of Nato. “The European leaders will come around,” Bessent said. “And they will understand that they need to be under the US security umbrella. What would happen in Ukraine if the US pulled its support out? The whole thing would collapse.” Trump’s new tariffs on European allies drew criticism from a small handful of Republican lawmakers. The US president’s announcement of the levies on Saturday came as a bipartisan delegation of 11 US lawmakers visited Copenhagen to reassure Danish and Greenlandic officials of their support. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska, described the tariffs as “unnecessary, punitive and a profound mistake”. Murkowski, co-chair of the chamber’s Arctic Caucus, called for Congress to reclaim its constitutional authority over tariffs. Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, described the retaliatory tariffs as “bad for America, bad for American businesses and bad for America’s allies”, adding: “The fact that a small handful of ‘advisers’ are actively pushing for coercive action to seize territory of an ally is beyond stupid.” Speaking on CNN on Saturday, Republican Congressman Don Bacon — who was not part of the delegation to Copenhagen — said that if Trump were to invade Greenland, it could spell the end of his presidency. “Most Republicans know this is immoral and wrong and we’re going to stand up against it,” the Nebraska lawmaker said. Danish and Greenlandic officials have met with dozens of lawmakers from both parties in recent weeks, seeking to shore up their support. On Wednesday, the Danish embassy in Washington hosted some 40 lawmakers for a reception with Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt. “I completely agree that Trump is a powerful man. The American president always is, but he is not an absolute ruler,” Rasmussen said on Sunday. “America is a democracy, where there are also checks and balances.”