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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is reiterating that use of the U.S. military is “always an option” as President Donald Trump continues his pursuit of acquiring Greenland.
Following the strike in Venezuela, where U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro and his wife before bringing them to the U.S., Trump is now reportedly considering a “range of options” to achieve the “important foreign policy goal” of acquiring Greenland, according to Reuters.
“President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region,” Leavitt said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. “The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
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Leavitt’s statement comes a day after Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers that President Trump plans to purchase Greenland rather than invade the self-governing island within the Kingdom of Denmark, according to CNN and The New York Times. Denmark and the U.S. are allies as members of NATO.
Other options the administration is considering include the formation of a compact of free association or acquiring the territory from Denmark, CBS News reported.
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Trump himself told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Jan. 4, while speaking about the capture Maduro and his wife that the U.S. could become similarly involved in Colombia, Cuba and Greenland, as well as Iran and Mexico.
The president, who has long expressed his desire to annex Greenland, said, “It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
According to CBS News, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told local media on Monday that the NATO international military alliance would end if the American military moved to seize control of Greenland.
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“If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops. That is, including our NATO, and thus the security that has been provided since the end of the Second World War,” he said, per CBS News.
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A letter published by the Denmark Prime Minister’s Office on X, signed by Denmark’s leaders and leaders of European NATO states, dated Tuesday, Jan.6, also pushed back against Trump’s interest in Greenland.
“Greenland belongs to its people,” the letter said. “It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland.”
