Sen. Chris Murphy says 'it would be the end of NATO' if the U.S. annexed Greenland
- - Sen. Chris Murphy says 'it would be the end of NATO' if the U.S. annexed Greenland
Megan LebowitzJanuary 12, 2026 at 1:32 AM
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WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy said in an interview on NBC News' "Meet the Press" that if the U.S. annexed Greenland, "it would be the end of NATO."
The Connecticut Democrat's comments came in response to a question about whether the move floated by the Trump administration would effectively end the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a defensive alliance created in the years after the end of World War II.
"NATO would have an obligation to defend Greenland, and so query whether we would be at war with Europe, with England, with France," Murphy said.
Greenland is the territory of Denmark, a NATO ally. NATO allies abide by Article 5, which stipulates that an attack on one NATO member should be considered an attack on all NATO members. Article 5 has only been invoked once in support of the U.S., following the Sept. 11, 2001, attack.
Shortly after the U.S. operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump's ally Katie Miller posted to social media a picture of the American flag on Greenland, writing, "SOON!"
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen condemned Trump's push to take control of Greenland, saying it was "so disrespectful." Reuters reported that Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, told the public broadcaster DR that "if the United States attacks another NATO country, everything stops."
Murphy argued in the interview that Trump was not focused enough on the American people.
"Let's also talk about what's at stake here," he said. "The president is spending every single day thinking about invading Greenland, managing the Venezuelan economy, building a ballroom. He is not thinking about the American people at all."
The White House has framed the administration's desire to control Greenland as a "national security priority." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has not ruled out using the military to take control of Greenland. The U.S. already has a military base in Greenland.
"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," she said in a statement.
Late last week, Trump renewed rhetoric on U.S. action to acquire Greenland, saying, "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not." He claimed that the territory would otherwise be taken over by Russia or China.
Last week, Trump posted on Truth Social that he doubted whether NATO "WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM" but acknowledged that U.S. would "always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us."
In a New York Times interview published later in the week, the president acknowledged that “it may be a choice” between preserving the NATO alliance or acquiring Greenland.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
