【By Observer Net, Qi Qian】

After the kidnapping of Maduro, the Trump administration has become more brazen, directly laying out the next target: Greenland.

According to Reuters, on January 7th local time, White House spokesperson Karoline Levitt stated that President Trump still committed to maintaining NATO, but he and his national security team are actively discussing the possibility of "the United States purchasing Greenland."

"All options are always on the table for President Trump," Levitt told reporters, "and the president's preferred option is always diplomacy."

That said, the "greed" and imperialist ambitions of the Trump administration cannot be hidden.

Levitt then cited the so-called "China and Russia threat," claiming that acquiring Greenland would give the United States more control over the Arctic region and strategically counter the so-called "aggression." She said this is in the best interest of the United States.

"His team is discussing potential acquisitions," she added, saying she had not heard Trump questioning Denmark's sovereignty over Greenland.

Trump's own statements were even more explicit. He posted on his self-created social media platform "Truth Social," stating that the U.S. will support NATO, "without America, Russia and China have no fear of NATO."

"Remember, for all those big fans of NATO, their military spending was only 2% of GDP, and most did not pay until I came along," Trump first criticized NATO, while boasting, "The U.S. at that time foolishly paid for them! It was me who politely made them reach 5% of GDP, and they immediately paid."

He continued to boast, "Remember, without my intervention, Russia would now occupy the entire Ukraine; also remember, I alone ended eight wars, and the foolish Norwegian NATO member chose not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize."

Subsequently, Trump dragged in China, stoking the "China-Russia threat." He claimed, "Without America, Russia and China have no fear of NATO, and I doubt whether NATO would stand by us if we really needed them."

He finally stated that he would continue to support NATO and claimed that the U.S. he had rebuilt is the only country feared and respected by China and Russia.

Trump walking past Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen during the NATO summit, Visual China

After the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Maduro, the Trump administration's ambition towards Greenland has been unmasked, escalating tensions between the U.S. and its NATO allies.

On local time January 6th, Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen warned that people must "take seriously" Trump's threats against Greenland, and if the U.S. launched a military attack on another NATO country, the post-WWII order and NATO itself would come to an end.

On the same day, leaders of seven countries — the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Denmark — issued a joint statement emphasizing that matters involving Denmark and Greenland should be entirely decided by Denmark and Greenland themselves.

However, the White House stated the same day that Trump regarded the acquisition of Greenland as a priority for U.S. national security, and it did not rule out the possibility of using force.

According to Reuters, European countries such as France and Germany have begun to develop contingency plans in case the U.S. acts on Greenland. The chairman of the Finnish Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs, Johannes Koskinen, called for raising this issue within NATO. However, an anonymous senior European official said that Denmark should take the lead in coordinating the response plan, but Denmark has "not yet explained what kind of support it hopes to receive from other European allies."

On January 7th, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio said he would meet with Danish leaders next week. When asked whether the U.S. intended to seize Greenland by force, he replied, "As a diplomat, we always prefer to resolve it through other means."

On January 3rd, Katie Miller, wife of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland covered with the American flag on the social platform X, causing dissatisfaction among Greenlanders.

Trump had already set his sights on Greenland during his first term. Media analysis suggests that as global powers seek to expand their influence and footprint in the Arctic, resource-rich Greenland has become a target due to its strategic value in security and trade. There is a large U.S. airbase on Greenland, which is of great significance to the U.S. military.

Since taking office last January, he has further pressured, repeatedly claiming that "there are Chinese and Russian ships everywhere around Greenland." Denmark objected to this.

Danish Foreign Minister Rasmo recently said that Trump's depiction was "not correct." He also said, "We do not agree with the claim that there are Chinese investments everywhere on Greenland," because it is not true.

Reuters also mentioned that ship tracking data from MarineTraffic and LSEG showed that there are no Chinese or Russian ships near Greenland.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian answered a question at a regular press conference on January 5th regarding Trump's statement that the U.S. needs Greenland, one reason being that it is "surrounded by Chinese ships," saying that China urges the U.S. to stop using the so-called "China threat" as an excuse to gain its own interests.

Regarding the U.S. government's threat to seize Greenland by force, citing it as a need for national security and containing China, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning answered questions at a regular press conference on January 7th, stating that China has always advocated handling relations between countries according to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

This article is exclusive to Observer Net and may not be reprinted without permission.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7592785339077460522/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.