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A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has increased tensions on the Danish government by questioning Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be needed to take over the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States militarily over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a legitimate right to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments come amid growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has called an extraordinary meeting to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

In his interview, Miller told CNN that dominion of the island could be achieved without armed conflict due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, it is logical that Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no need to even consider or discuss” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”

International Reactions

His comments followed Trump remarked recently, fresh from other foreign policy actions, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

Denmark's leader, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an American aggression against a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

Miller’s comments came after his wife, a conservative commentator, shared a map on social media of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

Asked about the social media post, he laughed and said: “This has represented the official stance of the US government from the start of this presidency... The president has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US maintains a military base there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following revelations about historical policies of the local population.

But amid the prospect of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”