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Trump’s Two Words Triggered a European Exodus
When Trump announced “10% tariffs” on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland starting February 1, 2026, Berlin’s message was clear: retreat immediately. Trump warned the rates would climb to 25% by July if the European deployments persisted.
The Bundeswehr didn’t need a second warning. Fifteen troops who arrived Friday were gone by Sunday — long before anyone could finish reading the President’s statement. German officials blamed “bad weather and last-minute schedule changes.” But the timeline tells the truth: German forces bolted under economic pressure.
France’s President Macron, by contrast, is holding his fifteen soldiers in Nuuk for now, insisting, “No intimidation nor threat will influence us, neither in Ukraine, nor in Greenland.” Paris is watching Berlin closely, but the contrast couldn’t be starker: European bravado versus American economic might.
Trump didn’t deploy a single soldier, fire a shot, or lift a finger. Just two words — “tariff threat” — turned a “critical security mission” into a weekend fiasco.
Denmark’s Dependence on America is Unshakable
Denmark maintains roughly 150 military personnel across Greenland via the Joint Arctic Command. The U.S. has the same number at Pituffik Space Base alone. At the height of the Cold War, America stationed 10,000 troops in Greenland. Denmark’s entire active military barely reaches 16,000 personnel — fewer than the New York Police Department.
Since 2025, Denmark has spent $13.7 billion on Arctic defenses: new ships, drones, upgraded facilities. But the U.S. outspends that sum in weeks, and Greenland’s defense relies on the 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement, which grants America near-total operational freedom. For 75 years, Denmark has known the harsh truth: it cannot defend Greenland without American backing.
Meanwhile, Russia and China are making aggressive Arctic moves. Greenland sits atop vital shipping routes and massive rare earth mineral deposits. Beijing even tried investing in Greenland’s airports until Denmark reluctantly shut the door in 2018. Yet Europe’s “show of strength” looks more like reconnaissance teams running for the exit under a tariff threat.
Trump Exposes Europe’s Weakness
The Greenland fiasco proves a broader point. Denmark, with fewer troops than a major U.S. city police department, cannot secure an island the size of Alaska against Russian or Chinese ambitions. America has protected Greenland since 1941, from Nazi Germany to the present, using American blood, treasure, and military power.
Europe talks tough. America acts decisively. And Germany’s humiliating two-day Arctic deployment exposed the reality for all to see: Europe can’t defend what it claims to value. Donald Trump just reminded the world who really holds the cards.
