Republicans doubt Trump’s Greenland military threat, say it is just the ‘art of the deal’

Rep. Nick LaLota, another New York Republican, agreed: “To Trump, everything is a deal, everything is a negotiation, a lot of things come down to leverage and I think his administration is comfortable with the term about not taking any options off the table, I hope we don’t read too much into that.”

Democrats have erupted at the prospect that Trump could invade Greenland with the military, warning it would shatter the NATO alliance that has propped up U.S. and European security since World War II. 

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz, on Tuesday said he plans to introduce a resolution known as a War Powers Resolution to block Trump from ordering military action. 

And Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said in an interview with CNBC that he’s working on a new War Powers Resolution in the House. 

“The people around him need to stage an intervention,” McGovern said. “He wants to destroy and blow up our NATO alliances … he’s just not well, the stuff that he’s saying is so damaging to our country.” 

Some Republicans agree with Democrats. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., called Trump’s actions in Greenland “appalling.”

“It’s creating a lot of long-term anger and hurt with our friends in Europe,” Bacon said. “I feel like we have a bunch of high school kids playing Risk.”

And Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., issued a joint statement with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., arguing that “Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow NATO ally to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend.”

Even Trump’s allies generally agree that any military action would require congressional approval. They have argued the action that captured Maduro did not, since the U.S. was carrying out a law enforcement function.

“This would require congressional authorization,” Zinke said. “It doesn’t meet the litmus test on Venezuela or some of the other ones that he’s talked about.”

Trump, in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, said, “RUSSIA AND CHINA HAVE ZERO FEAR OF NATO WITHOUT THE UNITED STATES, AND I DOUBT NATO WOULD BE THERE FOR US IF WE REALLY NEEDED THEM.”

“We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us,” he said. 

Powerful House Republicans on Capitol Hill, for now, are sticking by Trump as he pursues Greenland — continuing to insist the threats are all part of his negotiation strategy. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., said the “post World War 2 order is not over in any way whatsoever.”

“There’s not a goal to break up NATO right now, there’s looking to say, is there a good deal that can be made for what is a very strategic location, not just for the United States of America, but for others,” he said. 

CNBC’s Emily Wilkins and Justin Papp contributed to this report. 

Article source: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/07/trumps-greenland-military-threat-downplayed-on-the-hill.html