Trump’s Threat of Violence against Allies Will Be Felt for a Long Time*
Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 23 September 2026
by Stephan Löwenstein (link to
original)
The worth of Trump’s signature on the Greenland agreement remains to be seen. The issue will have consequences regardless. Not all of them are bad for Europe.
Donald Trump’s agreement with Denmark and Greenland doesn’t give the U.S. anything that it didn’t already have or couldn’t have gotten anyway. It wasn’t necessary to exert pressure, certainly not to threaten military action or annexation.
Still, the whole story will not just blow over. First, because one can’t rely on Trump’s word, or even on his signature. No one can say whether he’ll resume his verbal aggression at the next opportunity, or whether he’ll go even farther.
Just a day later, he again proclaimed his stance with brutal candor: "To the victor belong the spoils."
Before the U.N., of all places. If Trump weren’t already so obtuse, one would be bewildered. At the beginning of this year, he wanted Greenland no matter what, and he wanted “ownership,” not just an agreement to station troops there. And with this American president, the boundary between his country’s interests and his private greed becomes blurred, too.
What Remains
Second, there will still be consequences, even if Trump doesn’t make another attempt during his remaining time in office to make the world’s largest island the 51st state. NATO has suffered a jarring blow. Europe will not be so quick to forget that it once needed to wrap its head around the idea that it might have to defend itself not only without the support of the U.S. but possibly even against it. Hopefully, Europe also won’t forget that it wasn’t all that weak when it stood together.
Third, the way it happened may have been shocking, but it was a beneficial shock for Europe to be challenged on its interests in the Arctic. And in the end, it also brought some good for Greenland. For the first time, negotiations took place not just about Greenland but with its representatives as well; for the first time, a signature from Nuuk appears on such a statement. That should boost self-confidence there.
And if the Greenlanders were to reach an agreement with Denmark about autonomy, would Europe then have to accept it? But that probably hasn’t become any more likely to happen anytime soon. This possibility may be explicitly stated in the agreement, but Trump’s threats have given supporters of the status quo a few more arguments.
*Editor’s Note: This article is available in its original language with a paid subscription.
Donald Trump’s agreement with Denmark and Greenland doesn’t give the U.S. anything that it didn’t already have or couldn’t have gotten anyway. It wasn’t necessary to exert pressure, certainly not to threaten military action or annexation.
Still, the whole story will not just blow over. First, because one can’t rely on Trump’s word, or even on his signature. No one can say whether he’ll resume his verbal aggression at the next opportunity, or whether he’ll go even farther.
Just a day later, he again proclaimed his stance with brutal candor: "To the victor belong the spoils."
Before the U.N., of all places. If Trump weren’t already so obtuse, one would be bewildered. At the beginning of this year, he wanted Greenland no matter what, and he wanted “ownership,” not just an agreement to station troops there. And with this American president, the boundary between his country’s interests and his private greed becomes blurred, too.
What Remains
Second, there will still be consequences, even if Trump doesn’t make another attempt during his remaining time in office to make the world’s largest island the 51st state. NATO has suffered a jarring blow. Europe will not be so quick to forget that it once needed to wrap its head around the idea that it might have to defend itself not only without the support of the U.S. but possibly even against it. Hopefully, Europe also won’t forget that it wasn’t all that weak when it stood together.
Third, the way it happened may have been shocking, but it was a beneficial shock for Europe to be challenged on its interests in the Arctic. And in the end, it also brought some good for Greenland. For the first time, negotiations took place not just about Greenland but with its representatives as well; for the first time, a signature from Nuuk appears on such a statement. That should boost self-confidence there.
And if the Greenlanders were to reach an agreement with Denmark about autonomy, would Europe then have to accept it? But that probably hasn’t become any more likely to happen anytime soon. This possibility may be explicitly stated in the agreement, but Trump’s threats have given supporters of the status quo a few more arguments.
*Editor’s Note: This article is available in its original language with a paid subscription.
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