Danish Veterans Say They Feel Betrayed After Trump’s Greenland Remarks and Attacks on NATO

Many Danish and Greenlandic veterans say they feel betrayed after President Donald Trump publicly suggested buying Greenland and later walked back the idea while announcing a verbal framework for further talks. Former service members who fought alongside American troops — from peacekeeping missions in North Macedonia to combat deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq — say the rhetoric has caused shock, anger and a sense of disrespect.

Veterans Reaction: Shock and Betrayal

Gerth Sloth Berthelsen, a Danish veteran who grew up in Greenland and served alongside US forces in North Macedonia in 1996–97, told CNN the comments were deeply upsetting. "When you experience this kind of hostile behavior, you kind of get shocked," he said. "When it comes from an ally, it's not understandable how that even can happen."

Veteran Gerth Sloth Berthelsen, the chairman of Veteranprojekt Grønland, issued a statement saying he was "shocked by the United States’ conduct and the disrespect we are witnessing in general and in relation to international law." - Gerth Sloth Berthelsen

“Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people. At the same time, we are shocked by the United States’ conduct and the disrespect we are witnessing in general and in relation to international law.” — Veteranprojekt Grønland

History Of Cooperation—and Sacrifice

Denmark and its autonomous territories have a long record of military cooperation with the United States: on NATO missions, United Nations peacekeeping operations, and in the US-led campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nearly 20,000 Danish personnel served under the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks. Denmark lost at least 41 soldiers in Afghanistan and eight in Iraq — high per-capita losses for a nation of roughly 6 million people and its territories.

Greenlandic soldiers who serve in the Danish armed forces do so voluntarily. Veteran groups such as Veteranprojekt Grønland organize trips and rehabilitation programs that bring Danish and Greenlandic veterans together, underscoring the close ties forged in shared deployments.

Soldiers of the International Security Assistance Force salute the coffin of a Danish soldier during a ceremony at Kabul's military airport in March 2002. Two German and three Danish ISAF soldiers were killed in an explosion near the German base in Kabul. - Jim Hollander/Reuters/File

Key Voices

Salik Augustinussen, a Greenlandic soldier, wrote an open letter reminding Americans that Danes and Greenlanders stood with the US after 9/11. "If the US president decides to let the military go invade Greenland, you are attacking me and my family," he said, calling such a move a "blue on blue" attack within NATO.

Kununguak Iversen, another Greenlandic veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2006, said he felt "a bit backstabbed" by the administration's behavior. "We picked up the phone when they called. The fact that they then treat us the way they are doing now is not okay," Iversen told Danish broadcaster TV2.

Greenlandic soldier Salik Augustinussen penned an open letter to the American people earlier this month, in which he emphasized that the Danish realm didn't hesitate to help the US following 9/11. - Salik Augustinussen

Diplomatic Fallout And The Framework Talks

President Trump initially made provocative comments about "right, title, and ownership" of Greenland, then said he had "formed the framework of a future deal" following talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. European officials welcomed further talks but warned that the diplomatic damage to transatlantic relations may already have been done.

Details of the so-called framework remain unclear. Sources say leaders agreed to continue discussions about updating the 1951 defense agreement that governs the US military presence in Greenland. Reported aims include barring Russian and Chinese investments, increasing NATO's role on the island, and exploring additional US facilities or even land with special status — proposals that would be sensitive for Greenland's autonomy.

US President Donald Trump speaks during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on January 21, 2026. - Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

The United States already operates Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland under the 1951 agreement, which was revised in 1981 and re-signed in 2004. During the Cold War the US had a larger footprint on the island.

Wider Response

Trump's broader criticism of NATO and comments about allied contributions — including unsubstantiated claims that some NATO troops stayed "a little off the front lines" in Afghanistan — provoked strong reactions from European politicians, veterans and active-duty soldiers. Social media posts and public statements from Norway, Canada, the UK and other allies highlighted their long deployments and casualties in Afghanistan.

For now, Greenlanders, Danish veterans and European leaders await concrete proposals. Many veterans say the episode has strained trust between longtime partners and raised painful questions about the meaning of alliance solidarity.

Reporting contributions originally from CNN staff; facts about deployments and casualties are based on research cited by the Danish Defence Medical Command and public sources.