Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said President Donald Trump’s public threats regarding Greenland are more likely a negotiating strategy than a genuine plan to seize the territory, expressing skepticism while conceding he might be mistaken.
In a radio interview Sunday with John Catsimatidis on “The Cats Roundtable,” Gingrich said he doubts Trump intends to follow through militarily, though he acknowledged uncertainty. “I think he’s making a lot of noise to set up a negotiation to get what he wants, which is tourist rights, economic rights, mineral rights and national security rights,” Gingrich said.
Gingrich pointed to Greenland’s vast reserves of natural resources and noted that major powers—including China, Russia, and the United States—are all eyeing access to its minerals as well as its oil and gas potential.
“It’s a huge economic opportunity,” he said.
His remarks came as lawmakers from both parties traveled to Denmark to discuss the issue with Danish officials. The delegation includes Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska as the Republican participants.
Tillis said any attempt to use force to take control of Greenland would face strong resistance on Capitol Hill, warning that such a move “would be met with pretty substantial opposition in Congress.”
Ahead of the trip, Tillis criticized those encouraging the idea, saying: “Right now, people are trying to be deferential, but this is just an example of, whoever keeps on telling the president that this idea is achievable should not be in Washington, D.C.”
Trump escalated the dispute on Saturday by announcing plans to impose 10 percent tariffs on Denmark and several other European countries in response to their opposition to his Greenland proposal.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the tariffs could rise to 25 percent if negotiations for the United States to buy Greenland are not completed by June 1.
Danish officials sharply criticized the proposed tariffs. Danish Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Mikkelsen dismissed the move, saying, “Trump’s farce continues.”
“The American president is once again using tariffs as a threat,” Mikkelsen wrote in a translated post on X. “As so many times before, it is damaging to confidence in world trade and damaging to the American and European economies.”
Gingrich also argued that Trump’s leverage in Europe is strengthened by structural weaknesses in European economies, which he said have favored regulation over growth and innovation.
“[The U.S.] made the opposite decision,” Gingrich said. “We decided we wanted to maximize innovation and then regulate lightly but not have enough regulation to crush what we were doing. That has been a disastrous decision for the Europeans.”
{Matzav.com}
