Words Trump might understand: Fuck off!
"A man with a club" repeats threats after taking office, and Europe loads its bazooka
We might someday get back to other news in Denmark, but the Greenland crisis hasn’t lost any urgency in official circles.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (DK) said that if Donald Trump stuck to his position on Greenland, then “we have the most serious foreign policy crisis we have had in Denmark in many, many generations.”
His predecessor Per Stig Møller (DK), who had advocated strongly for Danish participation in US-led wars in the Middle East, said that the current situation is “much worse” than the Mohammed cartoon crisis during his tenure because Europe used to rely on the support of the US, but “suddenly a man with a club is standing behind us.”
Anecdotal evidence and confirmation bias
There was some cautious relief that, in his inaugural address on Monday, Trump (DK) didn’t mention Greenland, Denmark, or the EU. But that was broken shortly afterward when he was asked about the topic while signing executive orders. He remarked that Denmark would “come along,” adding that “the people of Greenland aren’t happy for Denmark. I think they’re happy with us.”
It's still isn’t clear whether he understands that acquiring Greenland would require the assent of both Greenland and Denmark and that pressuring Denmark with tariffs won’t stop Greenlanders from wanting independence.
His impression that Greenlanders want to become Americans is apparently based on the mostly young people that Don Junior (DK) found in the street and gave MAGA caps and US cash.
However dissatisfied Greenlanders may be with Denmark, none of the parties in Greenland’s Parliament (DK) wants the country sold to the US. They all favor independence, except for the Conservative Party, which prefers to remain in the Danish Realm.
When “come along” means “go away”
Danish politicians exercised their English skills in interpreting “come along" (DK).”
Pelle Dragsted, Red-Green Alliance: “Submit to my will.”
Rasmus Jarlov, Conservative Party: “Agree to some kind of arrangement” (still unacceptable).
Alex Ahrendtsen, Danish People’s Party: “Figure it out with the Americans” (meaning “comply”).
Susie Jessen, Denmark’s Democrats: “Align itself” with his plan (strange thing to say about an ally).
Christian Rabjerg Madsen, Social Democrats: Nothing to cause us to scale back diplomatic efforts.
Martin Lidegaard, Social Liberal Party: Trump says all kinds of things, and Denmark should focus on what he actually does.
Aaja Chemnitz, Greenland’s ruling IA party: He’s still talking about the wrong country.
Beggar-thy-neighbor fairness
Trump also made comments on the EU: "The European Union is very, very bad to us. ... So they're going to be in for tariffs. It's the only way ... you're going to get fairness." He believes that the US trade deficit with the EU is the result of unfair practices, but both parties have imposed tariffs on each other for selected products.
On Tuesday, two leading EU officials responded from the World Economic Forum in Davos. Ursula von der Leyen (DK), the head of the EU Commission, spoke of the need “to protect our interests.”
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde (DK) first complimented Trump for his “very smart approach” in not imposing tariffs on Europe on the first day of his presidency. Echoing the view of most economists, she added that tariffs probably wouldn’t benefit US manufacturing because the US economy is already running at nearly full capacity.
“Greenland has been part of the Danish Kingdom for 800 years. It is an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale. Let me put it in words you might understand: Mr. Trump, fuck off!”
—Anders Vistisen, the Danish Peoples Party
The next day, Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Union commissioner for the economy, told CNBC that if the bloc’s economic interests needed to be defended, the EU would respond “in a proportionate way.” In a debate at the EU Parliament, a majority of member states indicated a readiness to negotiate and also to defend Europe against tariffs.
Heavy artillery
The EU’s “proportionate way” may refer to a package called “the Bazooka” (DK), which is intended “to protect the Union and its member states against outside nations’ economic pressure.”
It was developed after China imposed sanctions on Lithuania because the latter allowed Taiwan to open a representation office, in a confrontation comparable to the mismatch between the US and Denmark. Approved in November 2023, the package includes several measures besides ordinary tariffs, such as an exclusion of US companies from procurement on EU projects and from investing in the EU.1
Breaking the language barrier
One EU MP, Anders Vistisen of the Danish Peoples Party (DK), became impatient with restrained diplomatic rejoinders and felt that Trump needed to be addressed in plain English: “Let me put it in words you might understand: Mr. Trump, fuck off!”
For his trouble, Vistisen received a reprimands from the EU Parliament and his own party chairman, Morten Messerschmidt (DK), as well as airtime on CNN. His far-right party is teaming up with the far-left Red-Green Party (DK) as the most vocal and adamant critics of Trump’s violation of the NATO charter. The Danish People’s party opposes Greenland’s secession altogether, arguing that its small population will never be able to manage so large a territory.
It doesn’t appear that Trump has responded directly to Vistisen’s rebuke. But on Saturday he did repeat his belief that “the people want to be with us” and called Denmark’s attachment to its territory “unfriendly”:
I don't really know what claim Denmark has to it, but it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn't allow that to happen because it's for the protection of the free world.
Back channels to America
Trump might have gotten the idea of casting doubt on Denmark’s legitimacy in Greenland from Kuno Fencker (DK), a member of Greenland’s Siumut party who has been busy in Washington, meeting with up to 100 people, including Representative Andy Ogles, who sponsored the Make Greenland Great Again bill. Fencker is not a member of Greenland’s legislature or administration and is acting “as a private person,” much to the dismay of officials in both Greenland and Denmark.
Aaja Chemitz (DK) thinks Fencker could be giving a false impression of Greenland’s readiness for independence. Løkke Rasmussen (DK) expressed displeasure with what he called “tourist-diplomacy,” which was also a deft swipe at an Opposition Danish politician who recently went on his own solo networking trip to Florida—Messerschmidt.
The article on dr.dk cited also included even more extreme measures that I couldn’t verify: US companies can be prohibited from using their patents in the EU, and EU companies can be prohibited from exporting goods to the US.