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One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has ramped up the pressure on the Danish government by challenging Denmark's sovereign claim to Greenland.

Military Intervention Dismissed

Stephen Miller, also claimed military intervention would not be required to take over the northern landmass because “nobody is going to fight the United States in combat over the fate of Greenland”.

“The idea of military action against Greenland? Its population numbers just 30,000 inhabitants people,” he incorrectly stated, despite the actual figure being closer to 57,000.

Miller further proposed that Copenhagen lacks a valid claim to the territory, which is a former Danish colony and remains part of the Danish kingdom.

Growing Tensions

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

A key parliamentary committee in Denmark has convened an extraordinary meeting to examine the bilateral ties with the United States.

Speaking to media, Miller told CNN that control over Greenland could be achieved without armed conflict due to its limited number of residents.

Challenging Copenhagen's Rule

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

He added: “The US is the power of NATO. For the US to secure the Arctic region to safeguard the alliance, obviously Greenland should be incorporated into the United States.”

He stated there was “no need to even think or talk about” a military operation in Greenland, reiterating: “Nobody is going to fight the US over this issue.”

Global Responses

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

The Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, responded by warning that an attack by the US a NATO ally would mean the end of the defensive pact and “post-Second World War security”.

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, also made a forceful rebuke, calling on the US president to abandon his “fantasies about annexation” and labeled American rhetoric of being “wholly inappropriate”.

Historical Context and Current Stance

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

Asked about the social media post, he responded by stating: “It has been the formal position of the US government since the beginning of this administration... Donald Trump has been explicit about that.”

Greenland remained a colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish realm. The US has had a strategic installation there, important for its ballistic missile early warning system.

In recent years, there has been growing support for Greenlandic independence, especially following revelations about Denmark’s treatment of the local population.

But amid the spectre of Trump’s threat, Greenland in March formed a new coalition government in a show of national unity, with its founding document declaring: “Greenland belongs to us.”