Trump’s Greenland Obsession Has Made One Person Very Happy

At least one person has been absolutely thrilled by Donald Trump’s recent push to acquire Greenland: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. leader’s relentless quest to annex the Danish-controlled territory has put America at odds with some of its strongest allies. Over the long weekend, Trump announced a new wave of retaliatory tariffs against European countries that oppose his Greenland takeover, cautioning other NATO members against participation in a joint military exercise on the island.

That sparked a celebration in Moscow, which has worked for decades to dismantle the European-friendly intergovernmental military alliance.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged Tuesday that NATO was in “deep crisis,” a reality that he said he couldn’t have previously imagined, reported The Wall Street Journal. Lavrov also rejected Trump’s warnings that Russia would attempt to occupy Greenland if the U.S. did not do so, telling the paper that the Kremlin had no such plans.

Trump has claimed that America “needs” Greenland “for defense.” But what exactly the White House stands to gain from controlling Greenland isn’t clear, especially in light of the fact that myriad existing treaties already give the U.S. unfettered access to Greenland as a military base.

NATO, which currently encompasses 32 member nations, has practically defined world order and global trade since the end of World War II. Originally formed to defend against the threats of the Soviet Union, the alliance has since morphed into a powerful collective bloc that has both weakened Russia and diminished European defenses (in exchange for American nuclear protection) as the largest peacetime military alliance in world history.

Much to the chagrin of defense strategists, Trump has proved a vocal critic of the Western military and trade alliance, repeatedly insisting that the Unites States has gotten a bad deal, in which it gives more than it receives.

“It’s a five alarm emergency that’s dividing North America from Europe,” John Foreman, a former U.K. defense attaché in Moscow and Kyiv, told the Journal. “Russia must be sitting back thinking Christmas just keeps coming.”

Power players in Moscow have definitely taken notice of Trump’s efforts, opting to encourage the U.S. leader rather than dissuade him. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rubbed Trump’s ego earlier this week, claiming that Greenland’s annexation would “undoubtedly go down in the history books.”

“And not only in the history of the United States, but in world history,” Peskov said.

The vast majority of the American public opposes Trump’s proposed northern expansion. A YouGov survey published Tuesday found that 72 percent of polled voters do not support a military takeover of Greenland. Even Republicans were far less likely to support the measure, with 52 percent opposed compared to 22 percent in favor—a detail not lost on The Drudge Report, the most heavily trafficked conservative news aggregator, which chose to lead its site Wednesday with the Journal’s report.