EventStatement
White House (Leavitt): for Greenland, 'utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief's disposal'
Emailed statement to CNBC after a joint statement by Denmark and European NATO leaders: "The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief's disposal." Stephen Miller (CNN, 2026-01-05) also refused to rule out force: "Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland." The closest precedent of a US official explicitly keeping force on the table against a NATO ally's territory.
- Date
- Kind
- Provocation
- Where
- United States
- Evidence
- Statement: Something was said. Weighted lowest: words cost less than actions. How evidence is weighed
- Who
- Government of Denmark (target); Government of Greenland (target); Karoline Leavitt (spoke); The White House (Executive Office of the President) (acted)
When people heard about it
The public does not always learn of an event when it happens: some come out later, and old ones can become news again because of something newer.
- Happened
- First reported
- (same day), in CNBC
Articles that cite this record
Sources
- CNBC, “Trump weighs using U.S. military to acquire Greenland: White House” (external site), . source record
Quotes
“The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s disposal.”
From CNBC: Trump weighs using U.S. military to acquire Greenland: White House, para. 9 (Leavitt emailed statement)