Europe's hypocrisy in opposing US colonisation of Greenland

US President Donald Trump addresses reporters on board Air Force One as he returns from the World Economic Forum on January 22, 2026.  [AFP]

When Donald Trump initially floated the idea of the United States acquiring Greenland in 2019, European leaders reacted with a mix of ridicule and indignation. Danish officials called the proposal “absurd,” European media framed it as a grotesque throwback to 19th-century imperialism, and commentators warned darkly of American expansionism returning to the world stage. However, in his second term in office, Trump has proven that he was not, in fact, bluffing, and is serious about having Greenland under America’s possession for geopolitical or other reasons. This time around, the European Union and its members could not afford to rubbish President Trump’s words, and have instead opted to strongly condemn him in public, while soothing and cajoling him in private.