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One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has increased tensions on Denmark by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed the use of armed force would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the region, which is a former Danish colony and remains part 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.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be gained without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US militarily.”

International Reactions

His comments followed Trump said over the weekend, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, responded by saying that an attack by the US a NATO ally would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, a conservative commentator, shared a map on social media of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “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... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US has had a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support for self-rule, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”