A Newfoundlander living and working in Denmark says the Danes are concerned, confused and frustrated by U.S. President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric on Greenland, and warns “the future is completely unknown.”
Trump told reporters in Washington yesterday that “you’ll find out” when asked how far he’ll go to acquire the autonomous region.
The Premier of Greenland has just posted the following on his Facebook page, accompanied by a photo of all members of Parliament (photo from 2025):
🇬🇱 I know that many people are following the situation closely. And I fully understand if there is concern.
That is why it is… pic.twitter.com/J8jrpbRTLH
— Orla Joelsen (@OJoelsen) January 12, 2026
Tom Crosbie of St. John’s is a lecturer in military operations at the Royal Danish Defense College in Copenhagen. He says the U.S. military is currently constrained by the rule of law in the United States and that includes alliances that are agreed to.
However, Trump’s actions have put the NATO alliance into serious jeopardy, and the world is starting to consider the potential implications should the U.S. take military action to gain control of a member territory.
(via the Kingdom of Denmark)
“It’s not something that we’ve ever considered seriously” says Crosbie, “and it raises really fundamental questions about every aspect of global security.” He calls the U.S. military “a super powerful organization” more powerful arguably “than any other military in history.” He says to now, there has never been any question about trying to “defend ourselves against them, because they’re our closest allies after all.”
He says there may be a expectation among NATO members that they can “run down the clock” as the Trump administration moves into the second half of its second term, but he warns that history cannot be used as a guide for what’s to come, and “we should not take anything for granted.”
He says Trump has made it clear that he does not believe he is “constrained by the rule of law or by norms of any sort.” Crosbie says the military, which under normal terms would be very constrained by the rule of law and adherent to norms, but the military seems to be willing to go along with Trump “on this road toward authoritarianism. I would say, the future is completely unknown.”
