DISINFO: Trump warns he will take Greenland by force but Europe says Russia is the threat
SUMMARY
Trump warns he will take Greenland by force, but Europe says Russia is the threat. The US elected president was adamant in saying that Denmark must renounce to Greenland in favour of his country to guarantee the protection of the “free world”, and warned that he will take it by force if necessary. Now it seems Russia will not be the invader after all, but Mr. Trump.
RESPONSE
This is a frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation technique called ‘whataboutism’, which tries to dilute criticism of Russia’s aggressive behaviour by shifting attention to a different subject, relativising the original misdeed through comparison to another element supposedly worse.
The claim is also an exaggeration of the statements of incumbent US president Donald Trump regarding Greenland. After nominating a new ambassador to Denmark, Trump stated in his Truth Social account that “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity”. When asked if he would rule out the use of military force, he refused to do it. But many experts, global leaders and politicians do not believe that Trump or the US administration is seriously considering the use of military force since the US has an agreement with the Kingdom of Denmark providing large flexibility to deploy US military assets in Greenland - a point also stressed by incoming Vice President JD Vance.
Danish authorities are in contact with Trump’s team showing their willingness to discuss boosting security in Greenland or increasing the US military presence on the island, showing that US concerns can be addressed without claiming Greenland for the US and working to prevent a direct confrontation with the incoming Trump Administration.
Despite the controversy generated by Trump’s menacing words, this is very different from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has caused dozens of thousands of civilian casualties and the death of several hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian and Russian troops, 4 million of internally displaced people and 6.8 million refugees according to the UNHCR, massive war crimes, and the systematic destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the collective West strives for global dominance while Russia poses no threat, that Russia does not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries unlike the West, that unlike the US, Russia has always respected its partners, or that the Russian army doesn't deliberately target civilians, unlike the US.