JD Vance has claimed that European allies are more “reasonable” about Donald Trump’s covert interest in Greenland.
His comments come as European leaders made unprecedented attacks on the U.S. government at the World Economic Forum in Davos, suggesting that the trans-Atlantic relationship between the U.S. and the E.U. might be more strained than ever.
Despite the anger from some of the U.S.’s closest allies, the vice president, who remains a controversial figure in Europe, boasted to the Washington Examiner that defiance of Trump was simply “posturing.”
“They’ve been incredibly hostile in public, and a lot of this is posturing, right? If you’re a European leader, they have to seem like a tough guy against Donald J. Trump,” Vance said. “So a lot of this, what we’ve seen, is more symbolic posturing for the Europeans. Behind the scenes, they’re much more reasonable.”
Like Trump, Vance has long claimed that a U.S. seizure of Greenland was necessary to ensure the national security of the United States. Both men have openly coveted the Danish territory’s wealth of rare-earth minerals and claimed that Russian and Chinese aggression was already threatening the island's sovereignty.
According to Vance, Danish officials privately admitted that the United States would need to play a significant role in defending Greenland.
“They’ve also acknowledged that, God forbid, something significant happened in Greenland, the United States would have to play the leading role in defending it,” he continued.
“So there’s a broad recognition that much of what we said about Greenland is actually true, and it’s interesting to juxtapose the public posturing with the very reasonable private negotiations that we’ve had with the Europeans.”
In contrast to Vance’s claims, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has publicly called for Europe to play a greater role in defending the region. She has already mobilized more troops on the island.
Vance, though, doubled down on his claims while speaking to the Washington Examiner, repeating disputed claims of an imminent threat from Russian or Chinese forces.
“If Greenland were to fall into the hands of the Russians and the Chinese, something that even the Danes themselves have admitted could happen at least over the medium and long term, it would make our security weaker,” Vance claimed. “It would give them power projection abilities.
“It would make our missile defense weaker, and so these things all counsel in favor of us shoring up that area, making sure it’s properly secure.”
Despite Vance’s suggestion that European leaders have been cooperative in private, they have been excoriating about the Trump administration in public.
Speaking at Davos, French President Emmanuel Macron accused the U.S. Government of “useless aggressivity” over Greenland and railed against “new imperialism and colonialism.”
President Ursula Von Der Leyen, who leads the European Union’s executive branch, also threatened an "unflinching, united and proportional” retaliation against the United States if it moved against Greenland.
Even British Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the U.K. “will not yield” to the U.S. president.
In recent days, Trump has rolled back some of his incendiary rhetoric about Greenland after he allegedly agreed on a “framework” for the future of the Danish territory.
In a public statement, Prime Minister Frederiksen doubled down on her assertions that the island will never fall under total U.S. control.
“NATO is fully aware of the Kingdom of Denmark’s position. We can negotiate about everything politically — security, investments, the economy. But we cannot negotiate about our sovereignty,” she declared.
“And, of course, only Denmark and Greenland themselves can make decisions on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” she continued.
“The Kingdom of Denmark continues to seek a constructive dialogue with allies on how we can strengthen security in the Arctic, including the United States’ Golden Dome, provided that this takes place with respect for our territorial integrity.”
The Independent has contacted the U.K. Foreign Office, the Danish Foreign Office, the Nalaakkersuisut, and the United Nations for comment.
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