Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego slammed President Donald Trump over his push to take over Greenland, saying it has “nothing to do with actual security concerns.”
Speaking on MS NOW, Gallego said the initiative answers to Trump “being an idiot, and he is really excited about the idea of taking this big piece of land that’s on a map, and he’s using any excuse to actually cover up this idiotic idea.”
Gallego went on to criticize Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying they are crafting “all these weird excuses” to justify taking over the territory, including countering growing Russian and Chinese activity in the Arctic.
He then noted that the U.S. already has a military base in Greenland and a treaty with Denmark to conduct military and surveillance operations from the territory. “We have a base in Greenland. The kingdom of Denmark has said you could expand all the bases you want,” he noted.
Trump, however, seems intent in having Greenland become a part of the U.S., most recently warning that he could impose tariffs on countries that don’t accept his plan.
“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said on Friday, without elaborating.
Gallego is far from alone in his assessment of the situation. A bipartisan congressional delegation met with Danish and Greenlandic officials in Copenhagen on Friday to show support for its territorial integrity.
The delegation is led by Democratic Sen. Chris Coons and Republican Sen. Thom Tillis. Coons told press that they “spoke about the value of NATO and the commitment to respecting the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and self-determination.”
“And we spoke with clarity about the importance of the people of Greenland make their decisions about their future. So, it was a constructive and hopeful dialogue,” he added.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, on her end, said Greenland must be treated as “our ally, no as an asset.” “It is important to underscore that when you ask the American people whether or not they think it is a good idea for the United States to acquire Greenland, the vast majority, some 75%, will say, ‘We do not think that that is a good idea,'” she added, noting that she is among those who don’t consider it a good idea.
Originally published on Latin Times
