Trump links Greenland demand to Nobel Peace Prize snub in leaked message
London: Europe is facing a growing dispute with Donald Trump over its Greenland claim after the US President said he no longer felt obliged to pursue peace because he had not received the Nobel Peace Prize.
In a leaked text message that stunned observers, Trump told Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre that the peace prize decision was a factor in his consideration of taking control of the Arctic region.
The message raises fears that Trump will authorize harsh action to press his claim on Greenland, despite moves by European leaders to oppose Trump’s request and discuss possible trade retaliation against the United States at a meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
Last October, Trump expressed disappointment at being overlooked for the peace prize when the Nobel Committee in Oslo decided to recognize Venezuelan democratic campaigner María Corina Machado, falsely blaming Norway and its government for the outcome.
“Given that your country has decided not to award me the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think only about Peace, although it is always dominant, I can now think about what is good and proper for the United States,” he wrote.
‘Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, why do they have ‘property rights’ anyway? There is no written document, only a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats that landed there too.’
“I have done more for NATO than anyone else since its founding, and now NATO needs to do something for the United States. The Earth is not safe unless we have Complete and Total Control over Greenland.”
The letter was copied to European ambassadors in Washington, D.C., and obtained by Nick Schifrin, foreign affairs and defense correspondent for PBS News.
Trump has repeatedly claimed to have stopped eight wars, but India has disputed his claim that he arranged peace with Pakistan. A conflict claimed to be over between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has resumed.
Gahr Støre confirmed Monday that he received a text message from Trump but did not disclose its content, the Associated Press reported, adding that the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump has threatened Britain and some other NATO allies with new 10 percent tariffs starting on February 1 if they do not agree to his plan to take control of Greenland. He said tariffs would rise to 25 percent on June 1.
French President Emmanuel Macron is said to have asked European Union members to use the “trade bazooka” against Trump; It’s a sanction that could theoretically block exports worth €93 billion (about $162 billion) to U.S. companies.
But others are calling for options to cool the debate without sacrificing Greenland and avoiding a potentially escalating trade war.
“A tariff war is in no one’s interest and we’re not there yet,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. “And so my focus is to make sure we don’t get to that stage.”
One of Starmer’s strongest rivals, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, also opposed Trump, despite being a political ally of the US president and a visitor to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
Farage described the tariff threat as “wrong, bad and very, very hurtful”.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump’s tariff threat “blackmail” and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen rejected it again on Monday; Other national leaders pushed back against the US President.
“We stand in full solidarity with the people of the Kingdom of Denmark and Greenland,” the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands said in a joint statement over the weekend.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb said he will request a meeting with Trump at the World Economic Forum summit, which will start in Davos on Monday. Others in Davos include NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and France’s Macron. Trump will speak at the event on Tuesday.
Some EU leaders also plan to meet in Brussels on Thursday.
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