Donald Trump is a master at creating crises and then resolving them by claiming he won a massive victory when the status quo barely changed.
The template was the crisis over NAFTA, which Trump called the worst trade deal ever signed. So he blew it up and in 2020 renegotiated the USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada) Agreement which was pretty much the same thing. He called it “the fairest, most balanced, and beneficial trade agreement we have ever signed into law. It's the best agreement we've ever made." Crisis resolved. Sort of. (The only complication is that Trump doesn’t abide by deals he signs—he is now violating USMCA as part of his trade vendetta against Canada and Mexico.)
The Greenland crisis follows the same pattern. Trump got into his head that the United States has to “have” Greenland. There was no obvious reason why, beyond the fact that it’s a big hunk of land, and he’s a real estate guy, so he decided to acquire it, after his New York tycoon buddy Ronald Lauder brought it to his attention. He told the New York Times it was “psychologically important” to him to get his hands on it.
What started as a first-term lark became in the second term, with no adults in the room to constrain Trump’s out-of-control impulses, a major crisis in trans-Atlantic relations. Trump would not rule out using force to seize Greenland, which is a territory of NATO ally Denmark. Earlier this year, Denmark and other European countries sent troops to Greenland under the guise of military exercises but really prepared to fight against an American invasion.
This was an unprecedented rupture in a a 77-year-old alliance, and it convinced the vast majority of Europeans that America could no longer be trusted. Some 60 percent of Danes now view the US as an adversary, and the rest of Europe isn’t far behind.
Now, having created a crisis over nothing, Trump is resolving it by essentially getting nothing out of it. On Friday night, he announced on Truth Social “that the United States of America has entered into an Agreement with The Kingdom of Denmark, and Greenland, that gives the United States permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”
The specifics are spotty, and the actual text of the agreement hasn’t been released, so anything Trump says has to be taken with a grain of salt. But according to him, the crux of this great agreement is that “the United States will FOREVER have the complete ability to do what is necessary in Greenland in order to secure and defend the security of Greenland, and the United States of America. Additionally, from now on, no U.S. adversary can EVER have a base in Greenland, have a military presence in Greenland, or make sensitive investments in Greenland, without our express written approval. For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an ‘Infinite Life’ Agreement, there is no end!”
On its face, this doesn’t seem very different from the status quo. The U.S. already has a military base in Greenland, and could build more such bases if it wanted (it used to have a lot more but closed most of them down). No U.S. adversary has a base in Greenland or is likely to have a base in Greenland, since it’s NATO territory. There aren’t any Russian or Chinese bases in Britain, Germany or France either. In fact, U.S. access to Greenland has been guaranteed ever since 1951, when the US and Denmark signed a treaty giving the US a large role in the protection of that territory. That was also an “infinite life agreement” since it had no expiration date.
If Trump’s description is accurate, the new agreement would apply even if Greenland became independent, although it’s hard to see how any agreement signed today, when Greenland is a territory of Denmark, could bind a future independent Greenland government, if there is one. The new agreement supposedly codifies that no US adversaries would have bases in Greenland or make “sensitive investments” (whatever those are) without US permission. But, again, no US adversary is ever likely to have a base in Greenland anyway, and there is no rush by China or Russia to make investments there.
MAGA propagandists are eager to spin this as a big victory for the Big Guy. Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, even posted a map of Greenland with the Stars and Stripes superimposed on it under the words “It’s Happening”:
But, as Sleepy Joe would say, that’s “malarkey.” The leaders of Greenland and Denmark have released statements making clear they are not ceding any sovereignty to the U.S.
Let’s be clear what this crisis was about. It wasn’t about extending U.S. security guarantees over Greenland. It wasn’t about averting the supposed threat of a Chinese or Russian takeover of Greenland following a declaration of independence. That was just a face-saving, national security spin that Trump’s aides put on the crisis, thereby allowing them to resolve it via negotiations with Denmark. This crisis was simply about Tycoon Trump’s desire to acquire more real estate, and to brag that he had done the biggest deal for the United States since the Louisiana Purchase.
That was always a mad fantasy, and I am very grateful that it has been abandoned—at least for now. (Remember what I said about how Trump doesn’t keep his word and doesn’t abide by agreements.) So in a way this agreement is a “win”—it’s a win for rationality and good sense and the NATO alliance. But the very fact that this crisis started in the first place, and lasted nearly two years, is a major loss for the US and its allies. Whatever minor adjustments Trump won in the existing status quo could easily have been achieved through amicable negotiations with Denmark to update again the 1951 treaty (last updated in 2004). There was no reason to create an existential crisis for NATO.
The Greenland crisis once again shows the cost of having an out-of-control president who governs based on whim and ego and bluster without any reference to long-term national interest. It’s good that it’s over, for now. It should never have begun in the first place.
On what basis are you 'believing' what t is saying. The 1951 agreement already covers the bases and that agreement lives for the duration of NATO. Hard to believe that the Danes (read the European Union) will accept US (t) approval of decisions. Hopefully the Danes will hold strong and prevent a back-door occupation by the US.
This is about global warming and greater access to Greenland natural resources. Let’s see how long it takes Donny and his brother and the Trump Trust and the band of outlaws do a joint venture to harvest these resources. That is it pure and simple.