Donald Trump may have just pulled off the impossible.
Reports broke from Davos that Trump has the framework of a deal in place for Greenland, just not the United States adding the country as a territory.
As I had actually suggested many times over, it does appear that the deal will allow the US to take control of some bases for strategic purposes, as well as a possible mineral deal.
As he usually does, Trump took to Truth Social to announce that the framework had been put in place, but it had not yet been finalized.
Trump posted, "Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.”
Trump further noted that the much-feared tariffs he had been threatening against EU nations were no longer a consideration.
Trump also discussed this with the media, stating, "The deal is going to be put out pretty soon, we'll see. It's right now a little bit in progress, but pretty far along. It gets us everything we need it to get."
I had repeatedly stated that I understood the strategic need for Greenland, but I had also stated that I thought a deal could be made that would not require the United States to absorb Greenland, and I think that is what took place here.
The proposed deal will have Denmark transferring its sovereignty over Pituffik Space Base in northern Greenland to the United States. This has been under U.S. control for more than seven decades, but the land is legally Denmark’s.
The United States would also get legal control over some smaller areas within Greenland for military bases.
This is not the original plan that Trump had in mind, but it serves the same purpose without having to absorb Greenland as a territory, so it is really the best of both worlds.
This was about as good an outcome as we could have imagined, but Democrats are still taking shots at Trump.
For instance, Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) stated, “It’s hard to unring the bell. He was willing to threaten and use coercive power to try to take the sovereignty of another nation — a NATO ally. It has damaged the relationship, and now our partners and allies think that they’d better have a back-up plan, because they can’t depend upon us.”
Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) added, “The whole thing’s crazy. They would give us permission to build a new base. So this whole thing’s done out of vanity or something, I don’t know, but he’s hurting America. He’s hurting our relationships, which hurts our national security.”
I 100% agree that Trump was way too aggressive here, especially when he started talking about military action to take Greenland by force. That was never necessary. I believe Trump should have had backroom discussions to get a deal done, but what is done is done. Trump wielded the big stick, and he got, more or less, the exact result he wanted. I am sure some egos were bruised along the way, but time will heal those wounds. It’s a big boy's game, so don’t play if you can’t take a few shots along the way.
