Sen. Dick Durbin on Thursday said President Donald Trump’s threats to acquire Greenland — and his stark criticism of NATO allies — have caused “irrevocable damage” to the international alliance.
Durbin last week returned from a bipartisan, bicameral congressional delegation trip to Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, to highlight the partnership between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark. Meetings with Danish and Greenland government and business leaders happened just days before Trump backed off threats to use military force to acquire Denmark.
“In all my years in Congress and many trips abroad, I’ve never experienced anything quite like this, the steadfast democratic ally of Denmark and Iceland, part of the agreement, that those allies are dismayed, angry and saddened by being bullied by the United States, a NATO ally that has fought alongside the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Durbin said Thursday after a Chicago Council on Global Affairs roundtable. “Denmark paid dearly in lives and injuries and is now being threatened with military force to take their neighboring land.”
Trump on Wednesday scrapped a tariff plan he had threatened to impose on eight European nations to press for control over Greenland. On Thursday, Denmark’s prime minster said her country won’t negotiate on sovereignty, and Greenland’s leader added it’s a “red line” — after Trump said he agreed on a “framework of a future deal” on arctic security with the head of NATO, the Associated Press reported. Details of that deal remain murky.
In a World Economic Forum speech in Davos, Switzerland, Trump bashed America’s NATO allies and said the U.S. needs ownership of Greenland for security reasons — but also announced he would not use U.S. military force to take control of the island.
Durbin said he hopes that speech is a “turning point.”
“But it is one that will haunt us for years to come,” Durbin said. “The reliability of the United States as an ally to NATO is now in question. You’ve seen it by statements made by world leaders. They’re wondering, ‘What’s next?'”
Durbin said members of Congress must return to Washington to try to strengthen ties to NATO, including with Poland, Finland and Sweden.
“I think that’s important because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has to realize that if he dares try to invade another country, there will be a solid reaction from the NATO alliance. That, I think, is important. We’re considering appropriation bills — how much money the United States is going to give to the people of Ukraine to fight Vladimir Putin. I’ll be voting in support of that.”
Durbin, 81, was asked whether he supports former Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal for a mandatory retirement age of 75 for the president and all branches of government.
“It doesn’t trouble me the way it used to,” Durbin said to laughs.
But he added, “The ultimate decision needs to be made by the voters. I have colleagues I serve with on the Republican side who are even older than myself and still making a valuable contribution. I think they should be judged on their merits. If we’re going to do this across the government, every aspect of the government, and it means, for example, new Supreme Court justices — that may be a different story.”
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