Stephen Miller Refuses to Rule Out US Action on Greenland
This week, leadership in Washington, D.C. poured fresh fuel onto one of the world’s most volatile geopolitical disputes: the future of Greenland.
The message from the Trump White House appeared blunt, unapologetic, and entirely unconcerned with European outrage.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller made crystal clear that bringing Greenland under US control is not some fringe idea or rhetorical bluster. According to Miller, it has been a standing position of the Trump administration, rooted in national security, not sentimentality.
Speaking yesterday during a tense interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Miller dismissed the outrage coming from Europe as theatrical and unserious. He argued that the United States, as the backbone of NATO, has both the responsibility and the capability to secure the Arctic against mounting Chinese and Russian encroachment.
JUST IN: CNN’s Jake Tapper ends interview after fiery clash with Stephen Miller over the future of Venezuela.
Tapper: “We went into the country, and we seized the leader of Venezuela…”
Miller: “D*mn straight we did!! We’re not going to let tin-pot communist dictators send… pic.twitter.com/aU5frDnvGN
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 5, 2026
The timing of the renewed debate was impossible to miss. Just hours earlier, US special forces had stunned the world by arresting Venezuelan’s communist leader Nicolás Maduro and transporting him to New York to face criminal charges—an unmistakable demonstration of American reach.
For many across the EU, the message landed hard. If America was willing to act decisively in Latin America, critics wondered aloud whether similar resolve could soon be directed elsewhere.
Trump has been explicit about why Greenland matters. He has repeatedly described the island as strategically indispensable, pointing to its location, its resources, and its growing exposure to hostile powers operating in the Arctic.
Trump has also mocked Denmark’s limited capacity to defend the territory, suggesting that symbolic sovereignty without hard power is an illusion. From the administration’s perspective, the security vacuum is obvious, and dangerous.
The reaction in Copenhagen was swift. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned publicly that any American move against Greenland would shatter NATO itself, revealing just how fragile Europe believes the alliance truly is without unquestioned US protection.
Her rhetoric marked a sharp escalation. Frederiksen spoke as if Europe’s postwar order itself were hanging by a thread.
Miller, however, rejected the premise entirely. He argued that the real historical anomaly is Denmark’s continued control over a vast Arctic territory it neither settled nor defends in any meaningful way.
Greenland, Miller suggested, is not nation under threat but a population caught in an outdated colonial arrangement.
EU leaders quickly closed ranks. France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement affirming Danish sovereignty and invoking international law, borders, and collective decision-making.
Yet the statement also appears to have betrayed a deeper truth: Europe remains utterly dependent on American power to enforce the very rules it lectures others about. Without US hard power, those declarations—for better or for worse—amount to little more than paperwork.
The controversy was further inflamed by a viral social media post, put up by Stephen Miller’s wife, showing Greenland draped in American colors with the word “SOON.” While unofficial, it captured the mood of a Washington establishment.
SOON pic.twitter.com/XU6VmZxph3
— Katie Miller (@KatieMiller) January 3, 2026
Denmark’s ambassador responded with indignation, demanding respect for territorial integrity. Critics inside Denmark, however, pointed out that Copenhagen has already granted Washington sweeping military access, basing rights, and strategic infrastructure.
The United States already operates a major space and missile-warning facility in northern Greenland, anchoring American power in the Arctic regardless of formal ownership. In practical terms, Washington is already responsible for Greenland’s defense.
Moreover, on the mainland of Denmark, the social democrat-led government has doubled down on its dependence, purchasing American fighter jets and approving expanded US basing agreements. These moves were celebrated by Brussels at the time but now leave Copenhagen rhetorically cornered.
From a national-populist perspective, the episode reveals Europe’s core contradiction. EU elites demand sovereignty when it suits them, yet outsource real security to Washington while attacking the very leadership willing to wield power
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