US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers during a classified briefing on Capitol Hill earlier this week that the US is seeking to purchase Greenland, according to ABC News. Rubio told reporters after a briefing on Wednesday that buying the territory has always been President Donald Trump’s intent all along.
“Well, that’s always been the president’s intent from the very beginning. He said it very early on. I mean, this is not new. He talked about it in his first term, and he’s not the first US president that has examined or looked at how could we acquire Greenland? There’s an interest there,” Rubio told reporters.
Military Option
The secretary of state did not answer questions about the use of military force to acquire the territory, which has been floated as an option by the White House. “If the president identifies a threat to the national security of the United States, every president retains the option to address it through military means,” Rubio said. “As a diplomat, which is what I am now and what we work on, we always prefer to settle it in different ways.”
However, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on Wednesday during a press briefing at the White House that the Trump administration will not rule out using military force, acknowledging that while diplomacy is always the first option, “the president keeps his options open.”
“All options are always on the table for President Trump as he examines what’s in the best interests of the US,” explained Leavitt when asked why the White House wouldn’t rule out the use of force. “But I will just say that the President’s first option always has been diplomacy.” She then rejected the notion that the president wasn’t willing to collaborate with the Danes.
International Reactions
Moreover, the notion of acquiring the country, especially through the use of the military, drew major pushback from key Republicans on Capitol Hill as foreign leaders decry the president’s rhetoric. House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans pushed back on any assertion that the US would use military action to acquire the country, with Johnson saying the US is “not at war with Greenland.”
“So, all this stuff about military action and all that, I don’t think it’s, I don’t even think that’s a possibility. I don’t think anybody’s seriously considering that. And in the Congress, we’re certainly not,” he said at a news conference.
Meanwhile, the Danish government has repeatedly dismissed Trump’s proposals to acquire Greenland, including in a joint statement with other European leaders released on Tuesday. “Greenland belongs to its people. It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on matters concerning Denmark and Greenland,” the statement said.
Diplomatic Efforts
On Wednesday, Danish Member of European Parliament Anders Vistisen told CNN he was fed up with this attitude from the US administration. “The clear message is that Greenland is not for sale, it’s not something you can negotiate about, and you’re not going to be able to pressure or bully us into submission on this,” Vistisen said.
Rubio said he plans to meet with his counterparts from Denmark and Greenland next week after they requested an urgent meeting with him on Tuesday. However, although tensions remain high, the administration continues to evaluate how acquiring the territory might serve the long-term interests of America.
