{"id":240349,"date":"2026-01-19T00:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/240349\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T00:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T00:53:17","slug":"republicans-democrats-push-back-on-trumps-greenland-aggression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/240349\/","title":{"rendered":"Republicans, Democrats push back on Trump’s Greenland aggression"},"content":{"rendered":"

US Republican lawmakers are scrambling to contain Donald Trump’s threats of taking possession of Greenland, with some showing the most strident opposition to almost anything his administration has done since taking office.<\/p>\n

They gave floor speeches on the importance of NATO last week. They introduced bills meant to prevent the US from attacking Denmark. <\/p>\n

And several travelled to Copenhagen to meet with Danish counterparts.<\/p>\n

But it’s not clear that will be enough, as the US President continues to insist that he will take control of the Arctic island. <\/p>\n

\"President<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump listens as he was speaking with reporters while in flight on Air Force One, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026 (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

It’s raised fears of an end to NATO \u2014 a decades-old alliance that has been a pillar of American strength in Europe and around the globe \u2014 and raised questions in Washington and around the world about what Trump’s aggressive, go-it-alone foreign policy will mean for world order.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the most powerful military nation on earth threatens your territory through its president over and over and over again, you start to take it seriously,\u201d Senator Chris Coons told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The Delaware Democrat organised the bipartisan trip to Denmark to \u201cbring the temperature down a bit,\u201d he said, as well as further talks about mutual military agreements in the Arctic. <\/p>\n

Republican Senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska accompanied a handful of Democrats on the trip. <\/p>\n

The US president says they need the semiautonomous territory of Denmark \u201cfor national security\u201d. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

Also, Republican lawmakers joined in meetings in Washington last week with the Danish foreign minister and his Greenlandic counterpart where they discussed security agreements.<\/p>\n

Yet it’s clear Trump has other ideas. <\/p>\n

Over the weekend, he said he will charge a 10% import tax starting in February on goods from eight European nations because of their opposition to his Greenland plans.<\/p>\n

Trump said on social media that because of modern weapons systems, \u201cthe need to ACQUIRE is especially important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including Europe fires back at Trump\u2019s threats, and the Black Caps taste victory in India. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n

The pushback to Trump’s Greenland plans<\/p>\n

Key Republicans have made clear they think that forcefully taking Greenland is out of the question. <\/p>\n

But so far, they’ve avoided directly rebuking Trump for his talk of possessing the island.<\/p>\n

Tillis on social media called Trump’s tariff plans \u201cbad for America, bad for American businesses, and bad for America\u2019s allies.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Greenlandic<\/p>\n

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen speaks during a protest against Trump’s policy towards Greenland (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, said that \u201cthere\u2019s certainly not an appetite here for some of the options that have been talked about or considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a floor speech, Thune’s predecessor as Republican leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, warned that an attempt to seize Greenland would \u201cshatter the trust of allies” and tarnish Trump’s legacy with a disastrous foreign policy decision.<\/p>\n

Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike see an obvious path to bolstering American interests in Greenland while keeping the relationship with NATO-ally Denmark intact.<\/p>\n

In a meeting with lawmakers, Danish Foreign Minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt discussed how the countries could work together to develop critical mineral industries and military cooperation, Coons said. <\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People protest against Trump’s policy towards Greenland in front of US consulate in Nuuk, Greenland (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

The diplomats also told the senators there is no evidence of Chinese or Russian activity in Greenland.<\/p>\n

Trump has made the argument that the US should take Greenland before China or Russia do, prompting worry across Europe. <\/p>\n

Troops from several nations have been sent to Greenland in support of Denmark.<\/p>\n

Murkowski said on social media that \u201cour NATO allies are being forced to divert attention and resources to Greenland, a dynamic that plays directly into Putin\u2019s hands by threatening the stability of the strongest coalition of democracies the world has ever seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

What can Congress do?<\/p>\n

Lawmakers are looking at a few options for taking a military attack on Greenland off the table. Still, the Trump administration has shown little if any willingness to get congressional approval before taking military action.<\/p>\n

\"Fishermen<\/p>\n

Fishermen load fishing lines into a boat in the harbor of Nuuk, Greenland. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Lawmakers, including Republicans like Murkowski, are pushing legislation that would prohibit Department of Defence funds from being used to attack or occupy territory that belongs to other NATO members without their consent.<\/p>\n

The Alaska senator also suggested Congress could act to nullify Trump’s tariffs. Murkowski and several other Republicans have already helped pass resolutions last year meant to undo tariffs around the globe, but those pieces of legislation did not gain traction in the House. <\/p>\n

They would have also required Trump’s signature or support from two-thirds of both chambers to override his veto.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Democrats have also found some traction with war powers resolutions meant to force the president to get congressional approval before engaging in hostilities. Republicans last week narrowly defeated one such resolution that would prohibit Trump from attacking Venezuela again, and Democrats think there could potentially be more Republicans who would support one applying to Greenland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019ve noticed is these war powers resolutions, they do put some pressure on Republicans,\u201d said Senator Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who has forced votes on several similar resolutions.<\/p>\n

He said the tactic has also compelled the Trump administration to provide lawmakers with briefings and commitments to get congressional approval before deploying troops.<\/p>\n

Still, while dismissing the Venezuela war powers resolution, Republican leaders made the argument that the legislation should be ruled out of order because the Trump administration has said there are currently no US troops on the ground in Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A plane carrying Donald Trump Jr. lands in Nuuk, Greenland, Jan. 7, 2025. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

That argument may set a precedent for future war powers resolutions, giving Republicans a way to avoid voting against Trump’s wishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don’t have boots on the ground, it’s a moot point,\u201d said Senator Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, about war powers resolutions in general. <\/p>\n

He also argued that the prospect of taking Greenland over the objections of Denmark is nothing “more than a hypothetical.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other Republicans have expressed support for Trump’s insistence that the US possess Greenland, though they have downplayed the idea that the US would take it by force.<\/p>\n

That’s left the strongest objections on the Republican side of the aisle coming from a handful of lawmakers who are leaving Congress next year.<\/p>\n

Representative Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, told The Omaha World Herald that an invasion of Greenland would lead to Trump’s impeachment \u2014 something he would \u201clean\u201d towards supporting.<\/p>\n

Tillis, another retiring Republican, has directed his criticism at Trump advisors like White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that a small handful of \u2018advisors\u2019 are actively pushing for coercive action to seize territory of an ally is beyond stupid,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"US Republican lawmakers are scrambling to contain Donald Trump’s threats of taking possession of Greenland, with some showing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240350,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[65,42,43,64,40,38,41,39,66],"class_list":["post-240349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-donald-trump","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-north-america","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-us-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240349"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240349\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}