ByPaul Wallis
EDITOR AT LARGE
DIGITAL JOURNAL
December 25, 2025
Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland - Copyright AFP/File Juliette PAVY
On the subject of defense, Trump excels himself – At being Trump. All the proposals are melodramatic, grandiose, obsolete, and incredibly expensive. If you think what he did to the East Wing with a totally unnecessary ballroom was bad, this is far worse although equally obscene.
Let’s start with Greenland. The idea that the US needs Greenland for “national security” is absurd. In the 1950s, the US had a forward presence in Greenland until they decided that they didn’t need it even back then. Modern combat systems aren’t geo-dependent. Nor are strike capabilities. The US Navy doesn’t need to freeze its tail off to manage its role in the North Atlantic, either.
Administering a hot dog stand in Greenland, let alone a full-scale defense presence, would be astronomically expensive and administratively impossibly cumbersome. A US base in Greenland would become an automatic target with massive demands for core-level security for the base. Exactly how useful a Greenland base right next to a totally antagonized Canada and Europe can be is also highly debatable.
Battleships, you say? No. The general consensus is that major units are “drone bait” and instant high priority targets and will definitely be attacked. The Black Sea fleet would be safer. These things would need a fleet of chaperones to get out of New York harbor.
December 25, 2025
Trump has repeatedly threatened to take over Greenland - Copyright AFP/File Juliette PAVY
On the subject of defense, Trump excels himself – At being Trump. All the proposals are melodramatic, grandiose, obsolete, and incredibly expensive. If you think what he did to the East Wing with a totally unnecessary ballroom was bad, this is far worse although equally obscene.
Let’s start with Greenland. The idea that the US needs Greenland for “national security” is absurd. In the 1950s, the US had a forward presence in Greenland until they decided that they didn’t need it even back then. Modern combat systems aren’t geo-dependent. Nor are strike capabilities. The US Navy doesn’t need to freeze its tail off to manage its role in the North Atlantic, either.
Administering a hot dog stand in Greenland, let alone a full-scale defense presence, would be astronomically expensive and administratively impossibly cumbersome. A US base in Greenland would become an automatic target with massive demands for core-level security for the base. Exactly how useful a Greenland base right next to a totally antagonized Canada and Europe can be is also highly debatable.
Battleships, you say? No. The general consensus is that major units are “drone bait” and instant high priority targets and will definitely be attacked. The Black Sea fleet would be safer. These things would need a fleet of chaperones to get out of New York harbor.
The battleship USS ARIZONA sinking after being hit by Japanese air attack on Dec. 7,1941.
Source – US National Archives, Public Domain
This rosy view also overlooks the fact that the US Navy is having a hard time managing its current construction and modernization. Creating a massive new unit with untold numbers of new systems, components, and maintenance requirements is suicidal. Add nuclear systems, and it’s much worse.
The US Navy now has any number of good, irrefutable reasons and excuses to “go lean”, reduce the logistics burden, and modernize for survivable modern combat needs. This idea is the exact opposite. Big money for contractors, absolutely no use for anyone else, is the verdict.
It’s a costly glass jaw you can bring with you when getting into the ring with Muhammad Ali.
There’s no depth of strategic thinking or any semblance of understanding of tactical realities. The science, materials, and tech are there to deliver real strategic and tactical advantages without committing to idiotic platforms. An unmanned go-cart with a few Harpoon missiles makes more sense than these anything but viable monstrosities.
It’s fairly easy to argue that these proposals are the diametric opposite of any practical US military policy. The entire US military could be diverted from anything remotely practical by these “digressions into futility,” and so could the defense budget for decades to come.
Now we get to Canada. A US-owned Greenland puts US sovereign territory on three sides of Canada. The Canadians won’t like it, and the Danes and Greenlanders definitely already don’t.
Source – US National Archives, Public Domain
This rosy view also overlooks the fact that the US Navy is having a hard time managing its current construction and modernization. Creating a massive new unit with untold numbers of new systems, components, and maintenance requirements is suicidal. Add nuclear systems, and it’s much worse.
The US Navy now has any number of good, irrefutable reasons and excuses to “go lean”, reduce the logistics burden, and modernize for survivable modern combat needs. This idea is the exact opposite. Big money for contractors, absolutely no use for anyone else, is the verdict.
It’s a costly glass jaw you can bring with you when getting into the ring with Muhammad Ali.
There’s no depth of strategic thinking or any semblance of understanding of tactical realities. The science, materials, and tech are there to deliver real strategic and tactical advantages without committing to idiotic platforms. An unmanned go-cart with a few Harpoon missiles makes more sense than these anything but viable monstrosities.
It’s fairly easy to argue that these proposals are the diametric opposite of any practical US military policy. The entire US military could be diverted from anything remotely practical by these “digressions into futility,” and so could the defense budget for decades to come.
Now we get to Canada. A US-owned Greenland puts US sovereign territory on three sides of Canada. The Canadians won’t like it, and the Danes and Greenlanders definitely already don’t.
Former central bank chief Mark Carney led Canada’s Liberals to victory in April 2025 elections after longtime prime minister Justin Trudeau resigned – Copyright AFP/File ANDREJ IVANOV
Canada couldn’t possibly have made it clearer that after the “51st state” debacle, that all bets are off. Trump has managed to thoroughly antagonize America’s longstanding ally in two words. Not two centuries. If the past was Manifest Destiny, this is Manifest Dumbness.
America’s allies have been patronized and insulted to the point of total refusal to cooperate. America’s credibility is tanking. The Five Eyes intelligence operation works better when one of them isn’t hallucinating non-existent threats all the time. NATO has basically written off US involvement in anything, at least for now.
Deploying major fleet units to Venezuela hardly helps. A non-threat that could easily be managed by the Coast Guard suddenly needs the Navy? Nobody believes that for a second. Wasting expensive ammo on barely credible threats while probably violating maritime law is simply ludicrous.
Forget it. All of it.
______________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
Canada couldn’t possibly have made it clearer that after the “51st state” debacle, that all bets are off. Trump has managed to thoroughly antagonize America’s longstanding ally in two words. Not two centuries. If the past was Manifest Destiny, this is Manifest Dumbness.
America’s allies have been patronized and insulted to the point of total refusal to cooperate. America’s credibility is tanking. The Five Eyes intelligence operation works better when one of them isn’t hallucinating non-existent threats all the time. NATO has basically written off US involvement in anything, at least for now.
Deploying major fleet units to Venezuela hardly helps. A non-threat that could easily be managed by the Coast Guard suddenly needs the Navy? Nobody believes that for a second. Wasting expensive ammo on barely credible threats while probably violating maritime law is simply ludicrous.
Forget it. All of it.
______________________________________________________________
Disclaimer
The opinions expressed in this Op-Ed are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the Digital Journal or its members.
Conservative Denmark lawmaker mocks Trump's push to take over Greenland
Carl Gibson
President Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to make Greenland a part of the United States are being met with ridicule — even from a high-ranking conservative member of Denmark's parliament.
In a Thursday post to his official X account, Rasmus Jarlov (a member of Denmark's Conservative Party representing Greater Copenhagen) celebrated the news that third quarter GDP growth in Denmark was more than twice that of the United States, with the Danes experiencing 9.5 percent growth compared to 4.3 percent in the U.S.
"Not that we are satisfied, but the current growth rate in Denmark is decent," Jarlov tweeted. "We will start buying USA states shortly."
Jarlov's post poking fun at Trump comes just days after the president appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) as his administration's newest special envoy to Greenland. Landry accepted the role, but made a point of telling his constituents in a social media post that he was not abandoning his duties as the Bayou State's governor.
IPaper columnist Simon Marks observed that the president's announcement set off alarm bells in Denmark, which has dominion over Greenland (though Greenland has its own parliament). In a joint statement, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Parilament chairman Frederik Nielsen both reminded the Trump administration that "land borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law."
"You cannot annex other countries. Not even with an argument about international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders … We expect respect for our territorial integrity."
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen also piled on, with Marks observing that he was "deeply angered" about Landry's appointment, calling it "unacceptable." Denmark has reportedly summoned U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery to Copenhagen to discuss Trump's plans for Greenland.
While Greenland's population is sparse, with just under 57,000 residents, the territory itself is rich in mineral deposits. Reuters reported earlier this year that Greenland was rich with 25 of 34 minerals classified as "critical raw minerals" by the European Commission,
Carl Gibson
December 25, 2025
ALTERNET
President Donald Trump's ongoing efforts to make Greenland a part of the United States are being met with ridicule — even from a high-ranking conservative member of Denmark's parliament.
In a Thursday post to his official X account, Rasmus Jarlov (a member of Denmark's Conservative Party representing Greater Copenhagen) celebrated the news that third quarter GDP growth in Denmark was more than twice that of the United States, with the Danes experiencing 9.5 percent growth compared to 4.3 percent in the U.S.
"Not that we are satisfied, but the current growth rate in Denmark is decent," Jarlov tweeted. "We will start buying USA states shortly."
Jarlov's post poking fun at Trump comes just days after the president appointed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) as his administration's newest special envoy to Greenland. Landry accepted the role, but made a point of telling his constituents in a social media post that he was not abandoning his duties as the Bayou State's governor.
IPaper columnist Simon Marks observed that the president's announcement set off alarm bells in Denmark, which has dominion over Greenland (though Greenland has its own parliament). In a joint statement, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Parilament chairman Frederik Nielsen both reminded the Trump administration that "land borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law."
"You cannot annex other countries. Not even with an argument about international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders … We expect respect for our territorial integrity."
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen also piled on, with Marks observing that he was "deeply angered" about Landry's appointment, calling it "unacceptable." Denmark has reportedly summoned U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery to Copenhagen to discuss Trump's plans for Greenland.
While Greenland's population is sparse, with just under 57,000 residents, the territory itself is rich in mineral deposits. Reuters reported earlier this year that Greenland was rich with 25 of 34 minerals classified as "critical raw minerals" by the European Commission,
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