Miller amid Greenland push: Nations not entitled to territories ‘they cannot defend’

White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Friday doubled down on the Trump administration’s argument that acquiring Greenland is “essential” for U.S. national security.

“The new domain of international competition is going to be polar competition,” Miller told Fox News’s Sean Hannity, seeking to justify President Trump’s proposal to take over the Arctic island, a semi-autonomous Danish territory. “That is where more and more resources are being spent by our nation’s adversaries and rivals is the ability to control movement, navigation, lanes of travel in the polar and arctic region.”

He added that because Denmark “cannot defend” Greenland, citing weaknesses in their military and economy, that it should not have claims to the land.

“To control a territory, you have to be able to defend a territory, improve a territory, inhabit a territory,” Miller said. “Denmark has failed at every single one of these tests.”

The president’s political adviser claimed the U.S. was already on the hook to spend “hundreds of billions of dollars” to defend Denmark as a NATO ally.

“It’s a raw deal, it’s an unfair deal, and most importantly, it’s unfair to the American taxpayer, who has subsidized all of Europe’s defense for generations now,” he told “Hannity.”

Miller previously suggested that “nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”

Democrats and many Republicans in Congress have balked at the Trump administration’s consideration of using military force to acquire Greenland.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) traveled to the island on Friday to meet with Danish officials. 

“There is no question that Denmark welcome’s American presence in Greenland to do everything we can to deter Russian and Chinese aggression in the Arctic,” Tillis posted on the social platform X on Thursday. “Let’s work together with Denmark and our NATO allies to project strength against these adversaries.”

Prior to the trip, the North Carolina Republican suggested military intervention to take over the country “would be met with pretty substantial opposition in Congress.”

“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.,” he added.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) has also been heavily critical of a military takeover and of Miller’s role in advancing this idea, calling the suggestion “really dumb.”

Democratic Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.) similarly criticized Trump’s aide last week, calling his comments “completely unhinged.”

“But they’re saying the quiet part out loud, right?” Aguilar said. “They’re threatening a NATO ally in Greenland and Denmark, and I think it’s deeply frustrating to us.”

Danish officials are taking the threat seriously. 

In an interview with local broadcaster TV2, translated by Bloomberg, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen warned that if the U.S. engages a military takeover of the country, “everything stops, including NATO and thus the security that has been established since the end of the Second World War.”