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A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed the use of armed force would not be required to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the US president’s renewed calls to acquire Greenland.

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has called an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be gained without military intervention due to its small population.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

“The core issue is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to defend NATO, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

These statements came after Trump said over the weekend, following events in Venezuela, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, calling on the US president to abandon his “notions of acquisition” and accused the US of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions came after his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the beginning of this administration... The president has been very clear about that.”

Greenland was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of Greenlandic people.

But amid the prospect of acquisition talk, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”