Rep. Don Bacon publicly rebuked White House aide Stephen Miller after Miller suggested the United States could claim Greenland, calling the idea "really dumb." Miller reiterated remarks echoing President Trump, while a social post by Katie Miller showing Greenland under a U.S. flag drew scrutiny. Danish and Greenland officials rejected any U.S. claim, and Denmark's U.N. ambassador cited international law forbidding forcible territorial seizures. The episode raised concerns about diplomatic harm and recalled NATO's Article 5 mutual-defense obligations.
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Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) sharply criticized White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller after Miller suggested the United States could claim Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Miller made the remarks during an interview on CNN's The Lead, where he also described recent U.S. actions in Venezuela as a victory. The couple at the center of the Venezuela case, President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, appeared in a New York federal court and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.
In the CNN exchange, Miller reiterated a position President Donald Trump has publicly suggested in the past: that the United States has a strategic interest in Greenland. "We need it for defense," Trump has said previously.
Host Jake Tapper pointed to a social post by Katie Miller, the deputy chief of staff's wife, which showed Greenland covered by a U.S. flag with the single-word caption "SOON." Tapper asked Miller: "Can you rule out that the U.S. is ever going to take Greenland by force?"
"Greenland should be part of the United States," Miller replied. "The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?"
When Tapper asked directly whether the U.S. might use military force to seize Greenland, Miller accused the host of chasing a provocative headline and added, "Nobody's gonna fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland."
"This is really dumb," Rep. Don Bacon wrote after reposting a clip of the interview. "Greenland and Denmark are our allies. There is no upside to demeaning our friends. But it is causing wounds that will take time to heal."
Officials in Greenland and Denmark quickly rejected any suggestion that Greenland could be transferred to U.S. control. Speaking at the U.N. Security Council, Danish Ambassador to the United Nations Christina Markus Lassen reminded diplomats that international law forbids threatening or using force against another state's territorial integrity and political independence.
The exchange also underscored NATO considerations: Article 5 of the NATO charter commits member countries to come to a member's defense if it is attacked. Both Denmark and the United States are NATO members, a fact officials cited to emphasize the diplomatic sensitivity of the comments.
Observers said the public debate risked damaging relations with close allies and highlighted how offhand remarks by senior advisers can have outsized diplomatic consequences.
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