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A key figure from Donald Trump's senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by disputing Copenhagen’s claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

The president’s deputy chief of staff, stated emphatically the use of armed force would not be needed to take over the Arctic territory because “no nation would engage the United States in combat over the future of Greenland”.

“What do you mean military action against Greenland? Greenland has 30,000 inhabitants people,” he incorrectly stated, the correct number being closer to 57,000.

He also suggested that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the region, which is a former Danish colony and continues as a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Growing Tensions

These remarks come amid growing tensions between the US and Denmark after the US president’s renewed calls to annex Greenland.

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

In his interview, Miller told CNN that dominion of the island could be gained without military intervention due to its limited number of residents.

Questioning Danish Sovereignty

“The real question is what right does Denmark have to assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their ownership claim?” Miller questioned.

He added: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to protect Arctic interests to defend NATO, it is logical that 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: “No country would wage war against the US militarily.”

International Reactions

These statements came after Trump remarked recently, fresh from events in Venezuela, that the US needed Greenland “urgently”.

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

The island's own leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, issued a forceful rebuke, calling on the US president to give up his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “completely and utterly unacceptable”.

Background and Present Position

Miller’s comments were preceded by his wife, podcaster Katie Miller, shared a digital image of Greenland draped in a US flag with the tag “IN THE NEAR FUTURE”.

When questioned on the online image, he responded by stating: “It has been the official stance of the US government from the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been very clear about that.”

The territory was under colonial rule until 1953, when it was integrated of the kingdom of Denmark. The US maintains a strategic installation there, critical to its national missile defense network.

In recent years, there has been increasing sentiment for Greenlandic independence, particularly after revelations about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new unity government in a demonstration of solidarity, with its agreement stating: “We are the rightful owners of Greenland.”