2026-01-08 21:15
publication
2026-01-08 21:15
US President Donald Trump said in an interview with the New York Times that he may face a choice between joining Greenland or maintaining NATO. He stated that gaining ownership of Greenland is important. He also stated that he considered his own morality to be the only limitation to his actions.
What is the priority?
Trump thus referred to the issue of his desire to join Greenland to the US and the risk of breaking up the Alliance. When asked what was a greater priority for him, he did not answer directly, but admitted that “this may be the choice” he will be faced with.
“(Trump) has made it clear that the Transatlantic Alliance is essentially useless without the United States at its center,” the daily commented.
The president suggested that he would not be satisfied with anything other than taking ownership of the island.
“Ownership is very important,” said Trump, who, according to the newspaper, “appeared to downplay the value of having Greenland under the control of a close NATO ally.”
– I believe it is psychologically necessary for success. I think freeholding gives you something that you can't get with a lease or treaty. Possession gives you things and elements that cannot be obtained by simply signing a document, he explained.
“I don't need international law”
When asked whether he recognized any limitations regarding his activities in the international arena, he replied that it is only his own sense of morality. He added that he “does not need international law.” However, he was also said to reject the suggestion that the leaders of China or Russia might be guided by a similar logic. When asked about the possibility of similar actions by Beijing towards Taiwan, Trump replied that it was up to Xi to decide what he would do.
– But you know, I told him I would be very unhappy if he did it and I don't think he will. I hope he won't do it, he added.
“Topic after topic, (Trump) made clear that he believed U.S. power was the deciding factor and that previous presidents had been too cautious to exploit it for political dominance or national gain,” the newspaper reported.
“Crazy, over-the-top reactions”
Vice President JD Vance also commented on the topic of Greenland on Thursday. When asked during a press briefing at the White House what his message was to Europeans on this issue, he advised to take President Trump's words seriously, although he suggested that the US priority was the security of the Arctic, not possession of the island.
– Apart from the crazy, exaggerated reactions that I saw from the press and some people in Europe, what did the president say? First of all, Greenland is really important, not only to U.S. missile defense, but to global missile defense. Secondly, we know that there are hostile adversaries who have shown a strong interest in this particular territory, this particular part of the world, Vance said.
“That's why we're asking our European friends to take the security of this land more seriously, because if they don't, the United States will have to do something about it.” And what it will be, I will leave to the president – he added.
From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)
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