Bessent: Trump frames Greenland control as strategy to avoid war

Businessinsider reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said President Donald Trump is serious about annexing Greenland and framed US control as a strategic move to avoid a "hot war." Trump announced on Truth Social on Saturday that the United States would impose new tariffs on Denmark, which controls Greenland, and other European countries unless they hand Greenland over.

Speaking to Kristen Welker on NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Bessent said, "The national emergency is avoiding a national emergency," and called the idea "a strategic decision by the president. This is a geopolitical decision, and he's able to use the economic might of the US to avoid a hot war, so why wouldn't we do that?" The report noted Greenland's Arctic location as a buffer between North America and Russia and said it hosts minerals important to future technologies.

Trump has said part of his reasoning is to site his Golden Dome missile defense project there. The article says the Golden Dome project remains in early planning stages, and Denmark has never said it would not allow such infrastructure; the United States already has a military base in Greenland.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, Scott Bessent, Greenland, Denmark, European Union