From Watts Up With That?
Essay by Eric Worrall
Essay by Eric Worrall
Activists seem keen for the USA to go back to subsidising Europe’s defence budget.
Trump calls climate change a ‘con job’ but it could drive his bid to seize Greenland
January 13, 2026 — 5.00am
David Crowe
Europe correspondent…
At a time when temperatures are soaring in Australia and bushfires are destroying homes and lives, the conditions in Greenland seem like the opposite extreme. The common factor, however, is the concern about the warming planet.
This is another worry for the people of Greenland when US President Donald Trump is making them nervous by talking about taking control of their territory.
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One young woman in Nuuk screws up her face when asked about Trump. “He treats us as objects, not as human beings,” she says.
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When the Americans worry about Russian and Chinese ships in these northern waters, the climate is part of their calculations. …
The US response, however, has been to leave its military operations in Greenland largely unchanged. …
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One Nuuk local, Julia Pars, a business consultant, tells me some people say they can’t sleep at night because they think about the US invading their territory. Pars shares the concerns, but she separates the anxiety about Trump from the security pact with America. …
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This is not an unusual response when I speak to people in Nuuk, and it is also the view of the major political leaders here. They seem to believe in the US alliance, and the unity of Western democracies, more than the US president. I do not hear objections to hosting more US forces in Greenland.
Let’s see if I’ve got this right. Greenlanders are terrified of climate change and the USA “taking over”, and presumably taking a slice of Greenland’s mineral wealth – but the USA sending lots of soldiers to Greenland for nothing in return would help alleviate their concerns?
I don’t blame the Europeans for trying. The Biden administration was wide open to European leaders mooching billions of US taxpayer dollars for Ukraine and any cause with the word “climate” in its name. Shaking the Russia rattle or the climate rattle has consistently worked on many previous US administrations.
Perhaps European influencers and leaders think if they shake the climate rattle and the Russia rattle at the same time, the Trump administration will cave and give them lots of free stuff.
Why would Climate Activists want the USA to subsidise Europe’s defence budget?
I don’t know David Crowe’s personal motivation, but back in 2023 George Soros complained the tension with Russia is distracting Europe from its climate crusade.
Europe’s climate crusade appears to include a substantial effort to interfere with US domestic politics.
If President Trump was to do what reporter David Crowe wants, and subsidise Europe’s defence of Greenland without any quid pro quo, US taxpayers would likely be indirectly funding Europe’s efforts to manipulate the United States into embracing radical left wing policy priorities, including renewable energy.
Meanwhile Europeans would leverage free US military support to exploit Greenland’s mineral rights, and keep all the profits, or at least keep a large slice for themselves as mineral royalties, if US mining companies did all the hard work. The Europeans would grow rich, and the USA would pay the bills.
Obviously it is up to the American people how US tax dollars are spent, but I can think of better uses for those US tax dollars than providing free military support to help Europeans get rich off Greenland’s mineral wealth.
As for Greenland, I find it fascinating that despite a public rejection of President Trump’s proposal, Greenlanders seem keen on a large US military presence, even if they feel there are unresolved concerns about climate change. This is like a girl you fancy saying “I don’t want you to be my boyfriend, but I want you to move into my house to help me feel safe “. Perhaps there is scope for further negotiations about Greenland’s future.
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