U.S. President Donald Trump said he remains committed to NATO after Denmark’s prime minister warned the alliance could fracture if Washington attempted to seize Greenland. At the same time, Trump cast doubt on whether NATO allies would come to the United States’ defense if it faced a major crisis.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump argued that he forced allies to increase defense spending, writing that many members were not meeting their commitments until his involvement. He also claimed he pushed allies toward higher spending targets and said the U.S. had been carrying too much of the burden.
Trump added that he believes NATO lacks credibility without U.S. leadership and questioned whether the alliance would support Washington “if we really needed them.” He nonetheless said the U.S. would “always be there for NATO,” while asserting that American military strength had been rebuilt during his first term and continued to be strengthened.
Why it matters
Trump has long criticized NATO and allies’ defense spending. But renewed tensions—including U.S. actions in Venezuela and escalating talk of exerting control over Greenland—have prompted unusually direct pushback from other NATO members.
On Monday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that if the United States attacked a fellow NATO country, then “everything stops,” referring to the alliance itself and the security framework it provides.
What to know
Trump’s comments come amid growing concern about the future of NATO, established in 1949. Those concerns intensified after the White House said Tuesday that military action was a potential option for the U.S. to take control of Greenland—an idea Trump has promoted since his first term.
Trump also repeated his claim that Russia would have taken all of Ukraine without him, framing the conflict as one in which U.S. leverage is decisive and European leaders have been insufficiently forceful in seeking an end to the war. In recent months, Russia has repeatedly pushed into or near NATO territory with drone strikes in Romania and Poland.
Meanwhile, Trump has continued to argue that Greenland is critical to U.S. national security, pointing to concerns about Russian and Chinese vessels operating in waters near the mineral-rich island.
Denmark and Greenland were seeking a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday to discuss the situation. Several NATO allies—France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom—warned against a U.S. takeover, saying in a joint statement that Greenland belongs to its people.
The United States already has a military presence in Greenland. Under the Biden administration, the U.S. reached a 2023 agreement allowing U.S. forces to use Danish airbases. Denmark’s parliament also approved a bill last June to allow U.S. bases on Danish soil, including Greenland.
No NATO country has ever attacked another member state, though the alliance has faced disputes among members over the decades.
What they’re saying
Danish Member of European Parliament Anders Vistisen told CNN on Wednesday that Denmark is “quite fed up” with what he described as pressure from the U.S. administration, adding that Greenland is “not for sale” and that Denmark would not be “bull[ied]… into submission.”
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican, wrote on X on Tuesday that she hoped the administration’s statements were “nothing more than posturing,” warning that any effort to take Greenland by force would damage U.S. security and international relationships.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters Tuesday night that military action did not seem appropriate, while noting that Greenland is viewed by many as strategically important and saying it was unclear how the situation would develop.
What happens next
Greenland and Denmark have requested talks with Rubio, but it remains uncertain whether a meeting will take place. Previous requests, according to the report, were not successful.
