Four Out of Ten Danes Regard the U.S. as a Serious Threat to Denmark

Trump University shows how to turn an ally into an adversary in one easy step!

This image is a screenshot from an article in the Danish daily newspaper Politiken.

I’ve mentioned before that reading the foreign press’s coverage of what is happening in the United States can provide some valuable perspectives. Here is another case in point.

Today, I read in the Danish daily newspaper Politiken that, according to a new poll, four out of ten Danes now regard the United States as a paramount or unmistakable threat to Denmark. The poll results took many of Denmark’s leading political analysts by surprise, and are being interpreted as “a harbinger of a fundamental change in the Danes' relationship with the United States.”

Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Copenhagen, says, “When the Danes, who are sensible people, hear what is being said by the new leadership in the United States, they can easily hear that it sounds like slogans from the Kremlin. That is why they do not trust them.” Rasmussen goes on to say, “I wouldn't bet … on NATO existing in 10 years.”

The drastic change in opinion from what has arguably been the United States’ closest ally in Europe is due not only to Donald Trump’s threats to take over Greenland, but also to fears — thanks to Trump’s suspension of military support for Ukraine — about the extent to which the U.S. would come to the aid of European countries in case of war.

To be clear: Denmark has long given the United States virtually unfettered access to Greenland. Denmark sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan. Denmark has sent hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine. Denmark is a strong NATO ally. And the people of Greenland — which, by the way, is an autonomous Danish territory governed by its own prime minister — have said loudly and clearly that “Greenland is ours.”

Trump’s continued pronouncements that the United States will take control of Greenland “one way or the other” serve nobody’s interests except Russia’s. Why am I getting the feeling that Putin and Trump have entered into a secret agreement to divide the world between them — with Putin taking Ukraine and other parts of Eastern Europe, and Trump grabbing Greenland and Canada? (Trump also continues to “jokingly” talk about Governor Trudeau of the 51st state.) Neither of these authoritarian leaders gives a damn about the impact of their acts on the lives of actual people. It’s all about money and power.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress is AWOL, thanks to Republicans who dare not stand up to their dear leader, and Democrats who can’t figure out how to be an effective opposition party.

Seriously, folks. This is no joke.