Declining to exclude the use of armed force for obtaining Greenland, President Donald Trump offered only "No comment" when questioned Monday about potential military intervention to secure the semi-autonomous Danish territory, NBC News reported. The response came during a brief telephone interview that underscored mounting tensions over the president's acquisition ambitions.
Trump's campaign to take possession of Greenland has intensified sharply, according to NBC News. The president declared Saturday he would implement 10% tariffs targeting Denmark alongside seven other European countries, maintaining the economic penalties until Washington secures an agreement for Greenland's transfer to US control, the outlet stated.
A novel dimension emerged in Trump's standoff with longstanding European partners when he tied the Greenland matter to his 2025 Nobel Peace Prize defeat, NBC News noted. Sunday brought a text message from the president to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre explicitly connecting these issues, with Støre later making the exchange public under Norway's disclosure statutes, his press office confirmed.
The message Trump sent read: "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America," NBC News reported. PBS first revealed the text, which the Norwegian prime minister's statement authenticated, according to the outlet.
Trump's social media platform carried his announcement that the tariffs would commence Feb. 1, with Norway numbered among the targeted states, NBC News stated.
Monday saw Støre issue a formal response, the outlet reported. "Norway's position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter," the Norwegian leader declared.
Each year, a five-member body appointed by Norway's parliament bestows the Nobel Peace Prize, NBC News noted. The 2025 honor went to Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela's opposition figure, according to the report. Last week at the White House, Machado presented Trump with her 18-karat gold medal in recognition of his military operation that toppled Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, the outlet stated.
Trump challenged assertions that Norway lacks influence over Nobel Peace Prize decisions and that an independent committee holds sole authority, NBC News reported. The president told the outlet: "Norway totally controls it despite what they say."
His critique continued, according to NBC News. "They like to say they have nothing to do with it, but they have everything thing to do with it," Trump added.
Others have contradicted this view, the outlet noted. Lewis Lukens, a senior diplomatic official at the US Embassy in London throughout Trump's initial term, questioned the president's position in a recent interview, NBC News stated.
"I'm not sure who Trump thinks he can intimidate or pressure to get a prize. One would hope that he has people around him who are telling him there's no point in antagonizing or pressuring the Norwegian government, because they have nothing to do with it," Lukens said, according to the report.
Trump revisited a familiar argument about the Nobel distinction, NBC News noted. His peacemaking work has halted eight wars and spared countless lives – a superior accomplishment to any medal, the president contended.
"I don't care about the Nobel Prize," Trump stated in the interview, the outlet reported.
European leaders opposing his Greenland acquisition efforts also drew Trump's criticism, with the president describing the territory as vital for defending national security from foreign threats, according to NBC News. Trump said: "Europe ought to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that's gotten them," adding, "That's what Europe should focus on — not Greenland."
Asked whether he would proceed with the European tariff threats absent a Greenland deal, Trump declared: "I will, 100%," NBC News reported.
