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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by questioning Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, stated emphatically military intervention would not be necessary to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just 30,000 inhabitants people,” Miller inaccurately claimed, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Danish kingdom.

Escalating Diplomatic Strains

These remarks follow a period of growing tensions between the two NATO allies after the American leader's repeated interest to purchase Greenland.

The Danish foreign policy committee has convened an extraordinary meeting to examine the kingdom’s relationship with the United States.

In his interview, Miller asserted that control over Greenland could be achieved without armed conflict due to its limited number of residents.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The core issue is on what grounds does Denmark have to exercise sovereignty over Greenland? What legal foundation of their ownership claim?” he asked.

Miller continued: “As the leading power within the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

There was, he said “no requirement to even consider or discuss” a armed takeover in Greenland, reiterating: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

Global Responses

His comments came after Trump remarked recently, following other foreign policy actions, that the US desired the territory “very badly”.

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

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a strong statement, calling on the US president to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and accused the US of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Background and Present Position

The aide's assertions came after his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a digital image of Greenland under a US flag with the tag “SOON”.

When questioned on the online image, he laughed and said: “It has been the formal position of the US government from the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been explicit about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it was integrated of the Danish realm. The US has had a military base there, important for its national missile defense network.

In recent years, there has been growing support for self-rule, particularly after disclosures about historical policies of Greenlandic people.

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