Summary
Germany and France criticized U.S. President-elect Donald Trump after he refused to rule out military or economic actions to acquire Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory and part of the EU and NATO.
Germany stressed borders must not be changed by force, citing the UN Charter, while France warned against threats to EU sovereignty.
Trump defended his position on national security grounds, proposing tariffs on Denmark if it resists.
Denmark and Greenland rejected the idea, with Greenland’s leader reiterating its desire for independence, not U.S. annexation.
Trump seems to have become even more prone to picking confrontations.
Now, as for Greenland… I’m fairly sure that the Inuit understand their possible paths.
Denmark -> is a foreign power, but the weakest and most friendly foreign power that is available. If someone wants a career abroad, via Denmark it’s possible to access the EU. As part of Denmark, one gets a stable democracy with decent health and social security guarantees, and decent workers’ rights.
The US is not a comparable replacement. It’s a damaged democracy (part oligarchy) with a problematic electoral system that produces a two-party political landscape. The landscape is currently very polarized. The US is arguably nearing a constitutional crisis due to Trump, the first felon president. In almost every comparison, the US scores high on violence and low on social / medical guarantees - it’s the country where cops shoot citizens and citizens shoot health insurance bosses. It has nothing appreciable to offer in terms of workers’ rights.
If I were a politician in Greenland, I would offer to join the US - on the condition that Trump successfully commits seppuku. A decent president should be willing to lay his life down for such a big territorial gain. :)