Yesterday, the President of the United States did not rule out forcibly annexing part of a NATO nation. Reread that sentence. Let it slowly settle in your mind. As soon as Ukraine decided on the Euro-Atlantic course, it became clear: it is not about the states that consider us unprepared. And not in the states that consider us a Russian zone of influence, and therefore seek to leave us on the other side of the security contour. It's just that the North Atlantic Alliance itself is at risk of ceasing to exist. Because its main driving force - the United States - is frankly tired of it.
Earlier this year, a new article appeared on Wikipedia describing the history of American attempts to take possession of Greenland. Back in 1868, then U.S. Secretary of State William Seward commissioned a government report that detailed its riches, at the same time mentioning Iceland. The Americans had bought Alaska from the Russian Empire the year before, so why not expand their territory some more? Greenland was described as the largest island on the planet, rich in minerals and game, whose population, “oppressed by Denmark”, has excellent conditions for fishing and hunting (a separate paragraph is devoted to types of game). But the best part comes next: Seward calls the purchase of Alaska, among other things, a way to “embrace Canada on the left.” And if you buy Greenland, you can go in from the right side. Thus, it is possible to make it “peacefully and happily become part” of the United States. Ukrainians have learned from their own experience: if a neighboring country says out loud that it wants your land, it is better to believe it.

Yes, many people still find it hard to believe that the United States, which for decades has fostered the image of the main defender of democracy and world order, is itself destroying the fundamental principles on which the Western world has existed since World War II. But Denmark and Canada (which Trump refers to in passing as the “51st state”) are rightly and seriously alarmed by signals from Washington.

Then, in 1868, it came down to a discussion of price: Greenland would have cost the Americans $5.5 million in gold equivalent - almost $2 million cheaper than Alaska. But Congress did not approve the allocation of the money because it wanted to jab President Johnson. After World War II, America repeats the offer, preparing to give $100 million (a billion in today's equivalent) for the island. Denmark rejects the deal, saying, “Though we owe the Americans a lot for their help, but not the whole island.” These negotiations were kept secret from citizens of both countries until the late 1970s.

The date of the Wikipedia article coincided with Donald Trump Jr.'s sudden trip to the island. Though in fact, as early as his first term in the White House, in 2019, his father began considering Greenland as a way to immortalize his name in history. The Wall Street Journal first reported this on Aug. 16, citing anonymous sources in Trump's inner circle. They said, “at dinners, he asked advisers if the U.S. could buy Greenland, listened to their arguments with interest and asked them to study the issue in detail.” Opinions were divided, with WJSJ writing of “a few advisers” who thought the deal was favorable and “others” who rejected it as unrealistic. Neither the White House nor the State Department commented on reporters' inquiries at the time.

This is how Trump-45 was fundamentally different from Trump-47. A few days later, he himself would tell the press, “It's just a major land purchase. Strategically interesting, we'd be curious, but it's not the number one issue on our list, I'm telling you that for sure.”

In six years, Donald Trump is beginning to legitimize the war criminal Putin on the Western political stage with one hand and preparing to emulate him with the other. Arguments about U.S. national security, heard behind closed doors in 1947, are uttered in front of cameras almost daily in 2025. For Trump-47, nothing is off-limits.

Eight minutes of reprimanding the president of another country (his ally, his strategic partner) on camera with the vice president? Easy. Freeze that country's aid and intelligence in the middle of a war? Easy. Send your son to Greenland to mock Danish outrage? Nothing easier. All the rules of old diplomacy one by one go in the trash - the commander-in-chief of the world's first army can afford it. Inspired by his behavior, the Fox News host reminds us with a charming smile, “We dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese, and now they're our best allies in the region. Why don't we take Greenland?”

No, this is not a remake of the Years and Years series by artificial intelligence, but the reality you and I have to live in next.

The escalation of Trump's rhetoric
The sharp escalation came after Vice President Vance's humiliating visit to Greenland. First, he sent his wife there, timing it so that it happened right after the local parliamentary elections, but before a new prime minister was elected. The trip was called a “family vacation”: Usha Vance and her child were to watch the traditional dog sled races. But the Greenlanders and Danes never realized how the president's national security adviser Waltz, who was supposed to accompany her was related to the Vance family.
Of course, both Greenland and Denmark politely but firmly asked that the visit be canceled because “it was not the right time.” The American consulate, which had been trying to organize meaningful meetings for Usha Vance, began to be turned down by everyone. Even the local travel agency refused to communicate with her. So her husband joined her, and the visit - also because of mass protests across the island - was shortened to a visit to a U.S. military base. As a result, the Vance couple spent more time on the road than on the cold, American-unfriendly island.

4 of the 5 parties that made it to parliament while the Vances were in the air signed a coalition agreement. So far, only Putin has managed to unite a foreign nation so powerfully. In a rage, Vance declared that Denmark was incapable of defending Greenland. Not two days later, Donald Trump did not rule out the use of force to annex the island to the United States.
Putin, by the way, the day before Vance's northern voyage publicly praised Trump's ambitions, calling them “a serious desire with deep historical roots.” It wouldn't surprise me if the new Molotov-Ribbentrop pact is signed not in secret, but immediately on camera. In the age of social networks and chat rooms, where journalists accidentally find themselves, this will only be easier for everyone.