Denmark labels US safety danger amid Trump’s bold quest to amass Greenland

For the first time in history, Denmark’s military intelligence service has labeled the United States as a security risk amid President Donald Trump’s quest to acquire Greenland. 

In a report released on Wednesday, the Danish Defense Intelligence Service said that shifts in American policy are creating new concerns for the country’s security.

It cited Trump’s use of reciprocal tariffs against American allies and its efforts in the Arctic to seize control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, The New York Times reports.

‘The United States uses economic power, including threats of high tariffs, to enforce its will and no longer rules out the use of military force, even against allies,’ the report read, in a thinly-veiled swipe at Trump’s threat to use force to wrest control of Greenland from Denmark.

The annual report also argued that the Trump administration’s growing focus on competition with China ‘creates uncertainty about its role as the primary guarantor of security in Europe.’

‘The USA’s changed policy places great demand on armaments and cooperation between European countries to strengthen deterrence against Russia,’ it notes, according to Politico.

In a worst-case scenario, the Danish intelligence services predict that NATO allies could find themselves in a situation where both China and Russia are ready to fight their own regional wars in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea, respectively.

The report comes just one week after the Trump administration released its own national security report, calling on European nations to take ‘primary responsibility’ for their own defense.

It went on to warn that Europe is facing the ‘stark prospect of civilizational erasure,’ for which, the report said, the US should be ‘cultivating resistance’ across Europe by supporting right-wing political parties opposed to migration.

That shift created a ‘dilemma’ for Europe, according to Thomas Ahrenkiel, the head of the Danish Defense Intelligence Service, though he emphasized in public remarks that the US remains Denmark’s ‘closest partner and ally.’

But the relationship between the United States and Denmark has become fraught in recent months, as Trump pushes to gain control of Greenland – which he has said is necessary for national security due to its position in the Arctic.

The Danish government has repeatedly hit back at Trump’s efforts, and even claimed in August that three Americans with ties to the president were running ‘covert influence operations’ in Greenland. 

Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen declared that : ‘We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark.’

‘It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead,’ he warned.

Denmark’s national security and intelligence service, PET, also warned at the time that Greenland is a likely target for influence campaigns. 

It said: ‘Greenland, especially in the current situation, is a target for influence campaigns of various kinds.’

PET added that efforts could ‘exploit existing or invented disagreements, for example, in connection with known single issues or by promoting or reinforcing certain views in Greenland regarding the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States or other countries with a special interest in Greenland.’

The Danes never identified the suspects or what they were allegedly doing in Greenland. 

But the allegations followed reports in May that American intelligence agencies had been instructed to step up intelligence gathering in Greenland, according to The Times.

Just a few months earlier, Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland but was forced to cancel public events after protests forced him to travel to a remote air base. 

A planned visit for his wife to a dog sled race was also scrapped. Denmark has also paused a major offshore wind farm project run by Danish company Ørsted shortly after the visit, raising concerns over US interference.

‘If you’ve been following what has happened over the past few months, you can see why the Danes feel they have to recognize that something is changing,’ Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy research organization, told the Times.

‘Denmark is in a unique position,’ she continued. ‘Because of Greenland, the United States engages with Denmark in a way it doesn’t with most European countries.’ 

‘If the United States is acting in ways that create uncertainty for Denmark – whether through economic pressure, shifting global priorities or behavior in the Arctic – then Denmark cannot simply ignore it,’ Braw argued.

The country has already strengthened its ties with Greenland and sought European support to counterbalance US interests.

Denmark has also increased its Arctic defense spending to more than $1.5 billion, buying drones, vessels, and upgrading facilities to improve Greenland’s security.

US Ambassador Kenneth Howery, though, wrote on X Monday that he, Danish and Greenland officials ‘renewed our commitment to a strong and mutually beneficial relationship’ amid his first trip to Greenland this week. 

Still, Danes on the streets of Copenhagen told CBS News this week they are increasingly concerned about their country’s safety. 

They seem most concerned, though, about the growing threat from nearby Russia.

In recent weeks, several European nations have reported unidentified drones flying over key infrastructure – including in Denmark – following Russian drone and fighter jet incursions into Poland, Romania and Estonia.

Some NATO allies now argue that the incursions are part of Russia’s escalating warfare tactics.

They note that in September, the Copenhagen Airport was forced to suspend flights due to unidentified drone sightings.

Russia denied any involvement in the drone incursions, with its embassy in Denmark saying in a statement that ‘incidents involving reported disruptions at Danish airports are a staged provocation.

‘Undoubtedly they will be used as a pretext for further escalating tensions in the interests of forces seeking by all means to prolong the Ukrainian conflict and extend it to other countries.’

Still, a 70-year-old Danish woman told CBS News that the sense of security is waning.

‘The Russians have to go through Denmark to come to Europe,’ she explained.

‘I think people my age are more worried because we remember – we were after World War II children – so we remember those days and we have heard about it our entire childhood about the war and the difficulties and all the horror that goes with war.’