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A key figure from Donald Trump's top aides has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by challenging Copenhagen’s claim to the vast Arctic island.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, also claimed military intervention would not be necessary to take over the Arctic territory because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Greenland has a population of 30,000 people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a one-time colonial possession and remains part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

Miller’s comments follow a period of growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an emergency session to discuss the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that dominion of the island could be gained without military intervention due to its small population.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?” Miller questioned.

Miller continued: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be part of the US.”

There was, he said “no need to even think or talk about” a armed takeover in Greenland, adding: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

These statements followed Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “very badly”.

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, reacted by saying that an attack by the US a fellow alliance member would mean the collapse of the military alliance and “the postwar security order”.

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a strong statement, urging Trump to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, posted a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the caption “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the social media post, he laughed and said: “This has represented the official stance of the US government from the beginning of this administration... The president has been explicit about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US has had a strategic installation there, critical to its ballistic missile early warning system.

Recently, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following disclosures about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

However, facing the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March established a new coalition government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”