Trump Links Greenland Takeover Push to Nobel Peace Prize Snub

United States President Donald Trump has linked his renewed ambition to annex Greenland to his long-standing frustration over failing to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

In an unusual message sent to Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump suggested that the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s refusal to award him the Peace Prize had altered his approach to international affairs, including his stance on Greenland. The message was first reported by PBS and later confirmed by an official in the Norwegian prime minister’s office.

“Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump wrote.

Prime Minister Støre said the message came in response to a text he and Finnish President Alexander Stubb sent to Trump, expressing opposition to his announced tariff increases on Norway, Finland and other countries.

In a statement, Støre said he had “clearly explained, including to President Trump, what is well known: the (Nobel Peace) Prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian government.”

Trump’s comments followed his threat to impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods from several European countries over their opposition to his plan to acquire Greenland—an autonomous territory of Denmark, a fellow NATO member—from February 1. The threats have unsettled NATO, raising concerns within the alliance founded on collective defence.

“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China, and why do they have a ‘right of ownership’ anyway? There are no written documents; it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also,” Trump said.

He added: “I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding, and now, NATO should do something for the United States. The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland.”

While the United States has long been a cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security and has spent more on defence than any other NATO member, several allies have also made significant sacrifices in US-led conflicts. Denmark, for instance, lost 43 soldiers during the war in Afghanistan following the 2001 invasion.

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