Setting: Rising tensions as the Trump administration continues to apply pressure in it’s desire to acquire Greenland.
Trump on Wednesday January 7, 2026, attacked NATO’s reliability, claiming he was not convinced the alliance would come to the aid of the US in a crisis.
Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, NATO’s collective defence clause, an attack on one member of the alliance is considered an attack on all. The provision has been formally invoked only once — in response to al-Qaida’s 9/11 terror attack against the US.
Trump’s remarks were made one day after the White House put out a statement it was not ruling out military action to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally.
Both Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly stressed the island was not for sale.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen went further on Monday, warning that an American attack on a NATO country would mean “everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.”
Source:
Elena Giordano, Politico: Trump hammers NATO allies while Greenland crisis deepens https://www.politico.eu/article/us-donald-trump-nato-allies-greenland-crisis-deepens/
AP: Trump threats against Greenland pose new, potentially unprecedented challenge to NATO https://apnews.com/article/nato-greenland-trump-russia-deterrence-threat-07d6c18ed968c25736eca2c25d935edb