Mette Frederiksen’s stance helps blunt Trump’s push for Greenland, for now

After escalating threats from President Trump about seizing Greenland, Mr. Trump said he would not use force and later said he and NATO leaders had worked out “the framework of a future deal”; Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, appears to have helped block his push — at least for now.

Ms. Frederiksen rallied European capitals, resisted threats of tariffs and moved allied troops — a few dozen from Britain, Germany, France and Iceland, ostensibly for an Arctic exercise — to Greenland as a signal against any military action. She has also signaled resistance to one compromise Mr.

Trump appeared to be considering, saying that sovereignty over bases is a “red line.” European officials and commentators credited her coordinated defense, even as other factors such as rising congressional opposition and falling stock markets also influenced Mr. Trump’s reversal.

Her sparring with Mr. Trump has defined her leadership. Ms. Frederiksen first dismissed Mr. Trump’s 2019 suggestion that the United States buy Greenland as “absurd,” and she has since overseen contentious decisions at home — from the mink cull during Covid to some of Europe’s strict asylum rules — while boosting support for Ukraine and apologizing in Greenland for past abuses.

Key Topics

World, Mette Frederiksen, Greenland, Donald Trump, Denmark, Nato