So thank you, Mike [Waltz]. And let me say just a couple of other things and then we’ll take some questions from the reporters.
So number one, I think a lot of Americans wonder why does Greenland matter so much? Why does the mission of this base matter so much to the American people? And I learned a lot about that today myself. Of course, you can read about it in a book, but I saw it up close and personal.
And if God forbid, to my fellow Americans, if a missile was fired from an enemy country or an enemy submarine into the United States, it is the people here before us who would give notice to our brave men and women further south in the United States to let people know what was coming and God willing to try to shoot it down and prepare for it. That’s one of the things that we do at installations like this.
And if God forbid, to my fellow Americans, if a missile was fired from an enemy country or an enemy submarine into the United States, it is the people here before us who would give notice to our brave men and women further south in the United States to let people know what was coming and God willing to try to shoot it down and prepare for it. That’s one of the things that we do at installations like this.
We know that Russia and China and other nations are taking an extraordinary interest in Arctic passageways and Arctic naval routes and indeed in the minerals of the Arctic territories. We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic because we know that if America doesn’t, other nations will fill the gap where we fall behind.
So what you guys do is so critically important. I think a lot of Americans, certainly I, didn’t realize it fully until President Trump started talking about the importance of our Arctic mission, about building upon it and ensuring that America can lead in the Arctic for the next generation.
And now I want to talk about, of course, the interaction and what Denmark I think has done and sometimes in partnership with us, but let’s be honest, what Denmark over the last 20 years has failed to do in some cases, because we know that unfortunately this place, this base, the surrounding area is less secure than it was 30, 40 years ago, because some of our allies haven’t kept up. As China and Russia have taken greater and greater interest in Greenland, in this base, in the activities of the brave Americans right here, we know that too often our allies in Europe have not kept pace. They haven’t kept pace with military spending and Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations. Now, President Trump, as he says all the time and as a lot of people recognize, is a president of peace. We want to have good relationships with everybody. That includes even to the extent possible, the Chinese and the Russians, but part of having good relations is showing your strength when you have to. And unfortunately, the story of Greenland over the past 20 years, when it comes to security, is that we’ve underinvested in the infrastructure, we’ve under invested in the security architecture and we’ve under invested in the brave men and women who are doing a very hard job, as Mike said, to keep all of us safe. That has to change.
So what you guys do is so critically important. I think a lot of Americans, certainly I, didn’t realize it fully until President Trump started talking about the importance of our Arctic mission, about building upon it and ensuring that America can lead in the Arctic for the next generation.
And now I want to talk about, of course, the interaction and what Denmark I think has done and sometimes in partnership with us, but let’s be honest, what Denmark over the last 20 years has failed to do in some cases, because we know that unfortunately this place, this base, the surrounding area is less secure than it was 30, 40 years ago, because some of our allies haven’t kept up. As China and Russia have taken greater and greater interest in Greenland, in this base, in the activities of the brave Americans right here, we know that too often our allies in Europe have not kept pace. They haven’t kept pace with military spending and Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, from China and from other nations. Now, President Trump, as he says all the time and as a lot of people recognize, is a president of peace. We want to have good relationships with everybody. That includes even to the extent possible, the Chinese and the Russians, but part of having good relations is showing your strength when you have to. And unfortunately, the story of Greenland over the past 20 years, when it comes to security, is that we’ve underinvested in the infrastructure, we’ve under invested in the security architecture and we’ve under invested in the brave men and women who are doing a very hard job, as Mike said, to keep all of us safe. That has to change.
Now, when I pointed out a couple of weeks ago, that in some ways, with all due respect to our Danish allies, they had not kept pace. There was a lot of criticism from Denmark, a lot of attacks at the Trump administration, at the president, at me, at others in our administration for saying the obvious, which is that Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe.
And, you know, one of the things I heard was, well, what about the many Danes who lost their lives in the war on terror fighting alongside the United States? Well, look, we obviously honor the sacrifice of our Danish friends in the war on terror 20 years ago, just as, for example, the French honor the sacrifice of Americans in Normandy 80 years ago. But recognizing that there are important security partnerships in the past does not mean that we can’t have disagreements with allies in the present about how to preserve our shared security for the future. And that’s what this is about.
There is no amount of bullying, no amount of obfuscating, no amount of confusing the issue. Our message to Denmark is very simple. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change. And because it hasn’t changed, this is why President Trump’s policy in Greenland is what it is. It’s consistent with the first Trump administration, where you saw significant investments in Arctic security. And it will continue over the next four years under President Trump’s leadership.
And let me finally, before I kick it over to the media, make one comment about the people of Greenland. I, you know, the colonel here, the base commander who came here first as the second lieutenant. And I guess, Colonel, this is your second duty station here. And we’re proud of you and proud of all of you guys who are serving and helping keep us safe.
You know, I heard a lot about the respect that our American troops show for the local Greenlandic population, the way that we make and create shelter for hunters and dog slithers, the way that we found ways to turn over traditional tribal land to some of the local populations in order to ensure that they’re able to live in accordance with their values.
There is no amount of bullying, no amount of obfuscating, no amount of confusing the issue. Our message to Denmark is very simple. You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change. And because it hasn’t changed, this is why President Trump’s policy in Greenland is what it is. It’s consistent with the first Trump administration, where you saw significant investments in Arctic security. And it will continue over the next four years under President Trump’s leadership.
And let me finally, before I kick it over to the media, make one comment about the people of Greenland. I, you know, the colonel here, the base commander who came here first as the second lieutenant. And I guess, Colonel, this is your second duty station here. And we’re proud of you and proud of all of you guys who are serving and helping keep us safe.
You know, I heard a lot about the respect that our American troops show for the local Greenlandic population, the way that we make and create shelter for hunters and dog slithers, the way that we found ways to turn over traditional tribal land to some of the local populations in order to ensure that they’re able to live in accordance with their values.
We respect, as the president said in his State of the Union address, we respect the self-determination of Greenland, Greenlanders, excuse me. We believe in the self-determination of the population of the people of Greenland. And our argument is very simple. It is not with the people of Greenland, who I think are incredible and have an incredible opportunity here. Our argument really is with the leadership of Denmark, which is under-invested in Greenland and under-invested in security architecture. That simply must change. It is the policy of the United States that that will change.
And I’m proud to be able to stand here with so many brave Americans to better understand the security mission and better understand what you guys do each and every day. For that, I’m grateful for your service. I’m even more grateful. I love you guys. I’m proud of you guys. And President Trump stands behind you and will for the remainder of his administration. Thank you all. God bless you.
And I’m proud to be able to stand here with so many brave Americans to better understand the security mission and better understand what you guys do each and every day. For that, I’m grateful for your service. I’m even more grateful. I love you guys. I’m proud of you guys. And President Trump stands behind you and will for the remainder of his administration. Thank you all. God bless you.