Won’t take “Fuck off!” for an answer
As Denmark commemorates its liberation from Nazi occupation, American spies search for collaborators to take over Greenland
While some Danish officials disapproved of Anders Vistisen’s word choice in the European Parliament, they and their Greenlandic counterparts have echoed his sentiment ad nauseam. Yet with a cabinet of glassy-eyed cultists and a cowering Republican caucus, Trump floats in his own reality, convinced the world will bend to fit it. Tensions over Greenland seemed to cool after Greenland’s election and JD Vance’s visit to Pituffik Space Base. But Trump never forgets a slight, and the gears keep grinding in the background.
Spooks in the snow
His administration has now slipped spies into Greenland, reportedly to ferret out local sympathizers. The Wall Street Journal framed the move as “one of the first concrete steps Trump’s administration has taken toward fulfilling the president’s often-stated desire to acquire Greenland.” The Kingdom fired back:
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen: “Of course you can’t spy on an ally.”
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen: “Espionage in Nuuk by Americans is completely unacceptable. It is disrespectful toward an ally and wholly abnormal.”
Henrik Dahl, Danish MEP: “It is a hostile act to spy in order to find collaborators who will work with the US to change Greenland’s legal status.”
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen: “It worries me greatly because we do not spy on friends.… This is not the kind of cooperation we want.”
Løkke Rasmussen—unwilling to go as far as some colleagues and shutter the US Consulate in Nuuk—will summon the US ambassador. Because Trump’s nominee still awaits Senate confirmation, the Foreign Ministry instead called in Chargé d’Affaires Jennifer Hall Godfrey.
Meanwhile, Pele Broberg, chair of Greenland’s independence party, Naleraq, accused the Danish Intelligence Service (PET) of spying on Greenland during its recent election. PET responded,
On the contrary, it is PET's task to prevent espionage against Greenland and the Danish Realm at a time when there is generally a heightened espionage threat.
The threat of espionage during the election led the Greenlandic media outlet Sermitsiaq to take new security measures, including encrypted apps and phone-free meetings.
When is spying on an ally apolitical?
The US directive, couched in the sleek jargon of espionage as a “collection emphasis message,” was issued by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard to several intelligence agencies. The staffs of the CIA and NSA alone probably outnumber Greenland’s population. Gabbard, the one-time Democratic rebel whose presidential campaign was sabotaged by her former party and who hails from Samoa—another outpost under the Stars and Stripes—criticized the Journal for working with people bent on “undermining the President by politicizing classified and leaking information.”
“Republican lawmakers have at times opposed elements of the budget allotted to fund Cofa agreements, creating deep frustrations in the countries that rely on the funds.”
Subverting Trump’s agenda by defending cooperation
Let’s roll the tape on Greenland since our last installment.
Col. Susannah Meyers, commander of Pituffik, was sacked after she told staff that Vice President JD Vance’s remarks that Denmark is “a bad ally” didn’t square with reality on the ice. Meyers was, by all accounts, beloved on base.
Her memo: “I do not presume to understand current politics, but what I do know is the concerns of the US administration discussed by Vice President Vance on Friday are not reflective of Pituffik Space Base.”
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell: “Actions to undermine the chain of command or to subvert President Trump’s agenda will not be tolerated at the Department of Defense.”
A vassal state’s dilemma
In April, Danish Parliament spent six hours on the first hearing of a defense pact that would allow US troops on Danish soil. Protesters massed at Christiansborg, and left-wing MPs rattled off objections:
It empowers an aggressor that disrespects Danish sovereignty.
The US could run de facto prisons and torture captives.
It gains access to Danish radio frequencies and might block civilian telecom networks.
GIs would enjoy immunity while sampling Aalborg nightlife.
Above all, Trump cannot be trusted.
The deal was arranged in December 2023 under a different president. Proponents such as Løkke Rasmussen urge Danes to think beyond today’s Greenland drama: “We cannot and will not stand alone. We have no interest in giving the US an argument to work less with us.”
He cites Russian saber-rattling in the Baltics—yet Trump’s concessions in Ukraine hardly promise a firm stance elsewhere. Does Copenhagen fear that saying Nej would trigger Trump’s famous spite and endanger Greenland?
The royal card
In early May, Greenland’s new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, came to Copenhagen to discuss a “modernization” of the Self-Rule Act that would shift some administrative duties from Denmark to Nuuk. Danish PM Mette Frederiksen commented: “Denmark is willing to invest in Greenlandic society, not only for historical reasons but also because we share a commonwealth today.” Nielsen also met King Frederik, who then escorted him home along with Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Nuuk greeted the monarch with the traditional “Hurra, hurra, hurraaaaah!” The royals usually visit every few years; Frederik was there just last year, so this jaunt reeked of symbolism. Still, the locals seemed more genuine than the homeless men Don Jr. bribed to sport MAGA caps. Frederik is wildly popular in Greenland—more so than Danish politicians—and is seen as down-to-earth and fond of its people. One commentator summed up the visit:
It signals that Danes and Greenlanders stand together against Washington…. King Frederik is a very, very strong card in a situation where the Americans are clearly trying to play on the division between Greenland and Denmark.
Volodymyr Zelensky, whom Trump accused of having no cards, must be envious.
Compact of deep frustration
On 4 May, the eve of Denmark’s Liberation Day, Trump again proclaimed that America “really needs Greenland” and coyly refused to rule out force. The next morning, Mette Frederiksen told a Copenhagen gathering, “If history teaches us anything,… it’s that we can never rely on tyrants. We must always have the will to defend our freedom.”
Yesterday, the Guardian reported that the Trump administration, through various security agencies, is considering a new tactic, a “compact of free association” (Cofa) with Greenland. This arrangement has been used only with three small Pacific Island nations. The country cedes autonomy to the US, which provides “essential services” and uses the territory for military operations.
The US can already use Greenland for military operations. US officials haven’t notified Denmark of the plan. They’ve never had any substantive talks with Denmark about Greenland.
This must appear to US security strategists a more realistic approach than Trump’s dream of “ownership.” According to an American official, “the US was helping Greenland diversify its economy and gain greater economic independence from Denmark,” a fallback option after Don Jr. failed to sway Greenlandic public opinion.
Greenlanders, take note:
Republican lawmakers have at times opposed elements of the budget allotted to fund Cofa agreements, creating deep frustrations in the countries that rely on the funds.
Indigenous knowledge vs. high-tech spycraft
Tomorrow, 12 May, Denmark takes the Arctic Council gavel for three years. While it’s new Arctic ambassador, Kenneth Høegh—a Greenlander and former envoy in Washington—will sit across from the US representative, the Council’s agenda shows little influence from Trump’s: indigenous peoples, sustainable development, cleaner energy, healthy oceans, and Arctic biodiversity. Denmark, whose own joint Arctic strategy with Greenland and the Faroe Islands has been delayed, announced that the Council will work
first and foremost for the indigenous peoples and inhabitants of the Arctic… [I]t will give priority to integrating indigenous knowledge with scientific insights in the Council’s work.
Well done, keep it coming.