A DANGEROUS GAME: NATO AND WAR ON THE LINE

On January 8^th, Rep. Nick Langworthy, who has been a stalwart supporter of the President, said,

"There is not going to be any sort of military exercise to take Greenland. It would be a great asset for the United States if it made sense, if you could diplomatically acquire Greenland.”

Four days later, on January 12^th, the Rep. Mike Rulli (R-OH) sponsored H.R.7012 - To authorize the annexation and subsequent admission to statehood of Greenland, and for other purposes.

On January 20^th, President Trump has shared more social media posts asserting his desire to take over Greenland.  He has posted that he is “100%” committed to follow through on his plans to implement still higher tariffs on our European allies if they do not support his threat to take over Greenland.

He has posted AI-generated images of himself planting the American flag in Greenland. He has displayed a map that depicted Venezuela, Greenland, and Canada as American states in the Oval Office. 

Greenland, to be clear, is an autonomous, self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. 

Since 2009, Greenland has extensive self-rule, controlling its police, courts, and natural resources, with only defense and foreign policy remaining Danish responsibilities. It receives financial support from Denmark. Greenland has strongly rejected President Trump’s calls for annexation, saying that it is not for sale.

Over this past weekend, Greenlanders and Danes held huge rallies to protest against President Trump’s claims that he is entitled to Greenland, that he’s just got to have it. 

Denmark, to be clear, is an American ally and a member of NATO. 

If the President were to use military force in Greenland, which he has said is not out of the realm of possibility, this could trigger NATO’s article 5, which states that an armed attack against one member nation is an attack against all of them. He would effectively be putting the United States at war with our European allies. 

This is a dangerous game that President Trump is playing. Some of his advisors, like Treasury Secretary Bessent, suggest that this is the ‘art of the deal’ and a negotiating tactic. But Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and the UK have all sent troops to Greenland in the past two weeks as part of a response to the threats President Trump is making. Our Canadian neighbors are currently “modeling a response to a hypothetical US invasion, … outlining a multi-pronged strategy to counter” an American military assault. This is where we’re at now. 

Donald Trump has frightened and alienated our closest allies. He appears to think that, in any area of his life, if he wants something, he can just grab it.

Donald Trump has turned us into a pariah state where once we were a leader among nations. 

In February 2025, during his notorious dressing down of Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the Oval Office, Donald Trump said, “You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III.” Now he is threatening every nation in NATO.

Nick Langworthy hasn’t made a public statement on this subject in twelve days, even as European leaders scramble to protect the world’s largest island from the voracious appetite of Donald Trump, and the last thing he said was, if you could acquire Greenland, it would be a great asset.

What are Trump and Langworthy gambling with now, if not the lives of millions of people and war?

Sources:

BBC News. “Donald Trump says ‘no going back’ on Greenland takeover plan.” 20 Jan. 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VanW9jeYaTA 

Congress.gov. H.R.7012. “To authorize the annexation and subsequent admission to statehood of Greenland, and for other purposes.” https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7012 

Gomez Licon, Adriana. “What Trump and Zelensky said during their heated argument in the Oval Office.” Newshour, PBS, 28 Feb. 2025. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-and-zelenskyy-said-during-their-heated-argument-in-the-oval-office

Islam, Faisal and Oliver Smith. “Greenland ‘will stay Greenland, former Trump adviser declares.” BBC News, 20 Jan. 2026. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98p6m0r53no 

Kingdom of Denmark. “Greenland: The World’s Largest Island.” https://denmark.dk/people-and-culture/greenland

Mazurski, Brian. “Langworthy pushes back on ‘Provocative” Greenland talk.” Newsbreak, WBEN. 8 Jan. 2026. https://www.newsbreak.com/wben-930am-560204/4431561041450-langworthy-pushes-back-on-provocative-greenland-talk 

Rascius, Brendan. “Canada prepping response to hypothetical US military invasion for first time in a century, report says.” The Independent, 20 Jan. 2026. https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/canada-trump-us-military-invasion-b2904279.html