{"id":425615,"date":"2026-01-22T10:24:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T10:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/425615\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T10:24:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T10:24:13","slug":"trumps-annexation-of-greenland-seemed-imminent-now-its-on-much-shakier-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/425615\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s annexation of Greenland seemed imminent. Now it\u2019s on much shakier ground."},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking at headlines around the world, it seemed like United States President Donald Trump\u2019s annexation of Greenland was imminent. Buoyed by the success of his military operation to oust Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>, Trump ratcheted up his rhetoric and threatened tariffs<\/a> on any nation that opposed him.<\/p>\n

Adding insult to injury, he openly mocked European leaders by posting their private messages and sharing an AI-generated image<\/a> of himself raising the American flag over Greenland.<\/p>\n

But behind these headlines a different story has emerged that has likely forced Trump to back down on using military force against Greenland and to drop threatened tariffs against Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s military threats had toxic polling numbers<\/a> with the American public. His Republican allies openly threatened to revolt<\/a>. European countries are sending reinforcements<\/a> to Greenland, hiking the costs of any potential invasion. And Europeans started to contemplate what economic retaliation<\/a> might look like.<\/p>\n

Far from being inevitable, Trump\u2019s Greenland gambit is now on shaky ground.<\/p>\n

No good options<\/p>\n

Trump has three options to take control of Greenland: diplomacy, money and military force. The latest diplomatic talks collapsed as Greenland and Denmark\u2019s foreign ministers left the White House in \u201cfundamental disagreement\u201d<\/a> over the future of the territory. <\/p>\n

Simply buying the territory is a non-starter. Greenlanders have already said the territory is not for sale<\/a>, and U.S. Congress is unwilling to foot the bill. That\u2019s left military force, the worst possible option.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the 56th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 2026.
\n (Gian Ehrenzeller\/Keystone via AP)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to convey in words just how stunningly unpopular this option is with Americans. A recent Ipsos poll<\/a> found that just four per cent of Americans believe using military force to take Greenland is a good idea.<\/p>\n

To put that in perspective, here are some policies that are more popular: <\/p>\n

If your official foreign policy is less popular than pardoning drug traffickers, then your foreign policy might be in trouble.<\/p>\n

Sensing this unpopularity, Trump has already begun to walk back his military threats. Using his platform at Davos, he claimed \u201cI don\u2019t have to use force. I don\u2019t want to use force. I won\u2019t use force.\u201d<\/a> He also said he and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte have \u201cformed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to tell whether Trump is being sincere. Not long after claiming to be the \u201cpresident of peace,\u201d<\/a> he was invading Venezuela and bombing Iran. <\/p>\n

The broader point is that if diplomacy has failed, money is a non-starter, and now military action is ostensibly being taken off the table, then Trump has no good options.<\/p>\n

The danger of defections<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s political coalition, in fact, is increasingly fragile and in danger of defections. The Republican House majority has shrunk to a razor-thin margin<\/a>, and Republicans are already signalling a loud break with Trump over Greenland. <\/p>\n

Nebraska congressman Don Bacon recently told USA Today<\/a>: \u201cThere\u2019s so many Republicans mad about this \u2026 If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n

The situation in the Senate looks even worse. Multiple Republican senators have pledged to oppose any annexation, with Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski visiting Copenhagen<\/a> to reassure the Danish government. With enough defections, U.S. congress could sharply curtail Trump\u2019s plans and force a humiliating climb-down.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s yet another danger of defection. Senior military officers can resign, retire or object to the legality of orders to attack America\u2019s NATO allies. Just last year, Adm. Alvin Holsey<\/a>, the leader of U.S. Southern Command, abruptly retired less than year into what is typically a multi-year posting. <\/p>\n

Holsey\u2019s departure came amid reports that he was questioning the legality of U.S. boat strikes in the Caribbean<\/a>. Americans still have a high level of confidence<\/a> in the military, so when senior officers suddenly leave, it can set off alarm bells. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey waves at the end of his relinquishment of command and retirement ceremony at U.S. Southern Command in December 2025, in Doral, Fla.
\n (AP Photo\/Rebecca Blackwell)<\/p>\n

Creating a tripwire<\/p>\n

In recent days, Denmark and its European allies have rushed to send military reinforcements to Greenland<\/a>. These forces, however, would have no hope of defeating a committed American invasion. So why are they there?<\/p>\n

In strategic studies, we call this a \u201ctripwire force.\u201d<\/a> The reasoning is that any attack on this force will create strong pressure at home for governments to respond. If Danes and Swedes \u2014 and other Europeans for that matter \u2014 saw their soldiers being captured or killed, it would force their governments to escalate the conflict and retaliate against the United States.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration would like to seize Greenland, face no European forces and suffer no consequences. But the entire point of a tripwire force is to deny easy wins and to signal that any attack would be met with costly escalation. It creates a price to invading Greenland for an administration that rarely wants to pay for anything.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A Danish serviceman climbs out of a hatch on the bow of the military vessel HDMS Knud Rasmussen of the Royal Danish Navy docked in Nuuk, Greenland, on Jan. 17, 2026.
\n (AP Photo\/Evgeniy Maloletka)<\/p>\n

The B-word<\/p>\n

Amid the Trump administration\u2019s economic and sovereignty threats, people are forced to grapple with what comes next. European governments are already quietly debating<\/a> retaliation, including diplomatic, military and economic responses. <\/p>\n

Chief among these is the European Union\u2019s Anti-Coercion Instrument<\/a>, colloquially known as the \u201ctrade bazooka,\u201d that could significantly curb America\u2019s access to the EU market. <\/p>\n

But for ordinary Europeans, a different B-word will come to mind: boycott.<\/p>\n

Some Europeans began boycotting U.S. goods last year amid Trump\u2019s trade threats \u2014 but never to the same level as Canadians<\/a>. That could quickly change if the U.S. engages in a stunning betrayal of its European allies. Fresh anger and outrage could see Europeans follow Canada\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n

Read more:
\n Canada is leading the U.K. and France in boycotting American goods due to Trump’s tariffs<\/a><\/p>\n

Trump repeatedly threatened Canada with annexation, and it triggered a transformation of Canadian consumer habits<\/a>. Canadians travel to the U.S. less, buy less American food and alcohol and look for more home-grown alternatives. Despite Canada\u2019s small population, these boycotts have caused pain<\/a> for U.S. industries. <\/p>\n

Now imagine a similar scenario with the EU. In 2024, the U.S. exported almost US$665 billion<\/a> in goods and services to the EU. It\u2019s one of the largest export markets for the U.S., fuelling thousands of jobs and businesses.<\/p>\n

The real danger for American companies, however, is when consumer pressure moves upwards to governments and corporations. European governments and corporations who buy from American giants like Microsoft, Google and Boeing will start to see public pressure to buy European \u2014 or at least not American. America\u2019s most valuable corporate brands risk being contaminated by the stigma of the U.S. government.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Microsoft president Brad Smith speaks at a conference on digital resilience during geopolitical volatility in Brussels, in April 2025.
\n (AP Photo\/Virginia Mayo)<\/p>\n

Will he, won\u2019t he?<\/p>\n

None of this will stop the Trump administration from trying. Trump\u2019s own words \u2014 that there is \u201cno going back\u201d<\/a> on his plans for Greenland \u2014 ensure he\u2019s backed himself into corner.<\/p>\n

The more likely scenario seems to be starting to play out \u2014 Trump will try and then fail. His threats to annex Greenland will likely be remembered next to \u201c90 trade deals in 90 days\u201d<\/a> and \u201crepeal and place\u201d<\/a> in the pantheon of failed Trump policies.<\/p>\n

The tragedy here is not simply a Trump administration with desires that consistently exceeds its grasp. It\u2019s that the stain of betraying America\u2019s closest allies will linger long after this administration is gone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking at headlines around the world, it seemed like United States President Donald Trump\u2019s annexation of Greenland was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425616,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-425615","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425615","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425616"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}