US Politics
GOP lawmaker slams Stephen Miller after controversial Greenland interview: ‘This is really dumb’
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A GOP lawmaker has torn into his own party, branding controversial Homeland Security Advisor Stephen Miller’s interview about the future of Greenland as “really dumb.”
Representative Don Bacon’s fiery jab at the Homeland Security advisor comes after Miller told CNN that “Greenland should be a part of the U.S,” despite the fact they would need to attack a key American ally to gain control of the island.
Fears that the Trump administration is gearing up to annex Greenland have reached an all-time high after the U.S. military successfully launched strikes on Venezuela and took custody of the country’s deposed president, Nicolas Maduro.
“This is really dumb,” Bacon, a retired Air Force Brigadier General, blasted.
“Greenland and Denmark are our allies. There is no upside to demeaning our friends. But, it is causing wounds that will take time to heal.”
He also re-shared several posts about the military support offered to the United States by the Kingdom of Denmark, which includes Greenland.
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“Denmark had 37 KIA in Afghanistan and 6 in Iraq,” one of the posts retweeted by Bacon read. “Applied to the U.S. population, those KIA-casualty rates would amount to 2,035 dead and 330 dead respectively. A good ally that deserves better.”
That post was in response to an image uploaded by Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie, depicting Greenland painted with a United States flag.
Her post was shredded by the Danish ambassador to the United States, Jesper Møller Sørensen, who also pointed out the extensive history of co-operation between the U.S. and Denmark.
“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he wrote on X. He described the post as a “friendly reminder” to the United States.
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However, during his CNN interview, Stephen Miller bragged that the United States is the “power of NATO” after being asked about his wife’s post.
He also claimed that “nobody is going to fight the U.S. militarily over the future of Greenland”
“By what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland?” he asked.
Greenland has been associated with Denmark and Norway since 986, before falling under full Danish control in 1814.
During its administration of Greenland, Denmark has afforded the island both home rule and self rule, granting it autonomy over its governance while remaining part of the Danish Kingdom.
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European leaders have railed against the Trump administration’s assertion that it is entitled to Greenland, with Donald Trump suggesting the island is needed for “national security situation.”
He claimed that the region was “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” although experts have disputed this claim, according to Politico.
Trump also suggested he wanted to defend the region, which is rich in rare-earth minerals.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned allies that the E.U. needs to take Trump’s threats against European sovereignty “seriously.”
“But I will also make it clear that if the U.S. chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War,” she added.
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Frederiksen and her government have been backed by her allies in the EU and the UK, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer telling reporters, “I stand with her.”
There has been an outcry from politicians in the United States, too, with several members of Congress slamming the president for his aggressive action against one of the country’s key allies, the E.U.
“Trump wants to take Greenland from Denmark—a NATO ally,” Texas Representative Joaquin Castro wrote on X. “Earlier this year, I offered an amendment to the State Department reauthorization that would stop him.
“Every Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted against it.”
Steny Hoyer, a Maryland representative, also condemned threats to annex the island, pointing out on X that Denmark has historically “moved in lockstep with the U.S. in Greenland to deter authoritarian regimes in the region.”
