Greenlandic families ‘frightened’ amid rising tensions over Trump takeover plan, Sarah McBride warns

Rep. Sarah McBride, the Delaware Democrat who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Sunday that talk of the United States acquiring Greenland has left ordinary people in the Arctic territory “frightened for their safety,” underscoring a diplomatic rupture with Europe that is shaking NATO and inflaming public opinion from Copenhagen to Nuuk.

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On MS NOW’s The Weekend, McBride described a bipartisan congressional visit to Denmark and Greenland last week meant to calm mounting concern over President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric about U.S. ambitions in the Arctic. Members of both parties met with senior Danish and Greenlandic officials, lawmakers, and business leaders, and heard directly from residents unsettled by talk in Washington, D.C., about acquisition or the threat of coercive economic pressure.

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“Even the mere discussion of the acquisition of Greenland is deeply destabilizing,” McBride said. “It is deeply destabilizing here in Denmark and is deeply frightening to people in Greenland.”

McBride was joined on the trip by a group of U.S. lawmakers that spanned both chambers and both parties. The contingent included Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Peter Welch of Vermont, and Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, as well as House members, including Reps. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, Gregory Meeks of New York, Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania, and Sara Jacobs of California.

(L-R) Dick Durbin, Jeanne Shaheen, Gregory Meeks, Sara Jacobs, Lisa Murkowski, Chris Coons, Peter Welch,Sarah McBride, Madeleine Dean, and Steny Hoyer are seen at a press conference with an American delegation, consisting of senators and members of the House of Representatives, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on January 17, 2026. Ida Marie Odgaard / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty Images) / Denmark OUT

McBride, the first out transgender member of Congress, said the delegation encountered profound anxiety on the ground, with families and children expressing uncertainty about what U.S. policy could mean for their autonomy and future. “We are hearing that they are frightened for their safety. They are frightened for their freedoms,” she said.

The American lawmakers traveled to Denmark in part to reassure allies that most Americans do not support efforts to take control of Greenland, even as Trump escalates pressure through tariffs and strategic rhetoric. The visit was widely described in Copenhagen as a reassurance tour aimed at underscoring the longstanding partnership between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark.

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McBride said Danish and Greenlandic leaders repeatedly emphasized appreciation for the U.S.-Danish alliance and NATO, while firmly rejecting any notion of surrendering their territory.

“They have an open arm to any kind of increased partnership, any kind of increased investment by the United States in Greenland, short of seizing Greenland or taking it over,” she said.

“It is clear that Greenlanders do not want to be part of the United States,” McBride added. “Any effort to acquire Greenland would fundamentally undermine their right to self-determination.”

The heightened diplomacy and public concern come amid a broader European backlash to the United States’ stance. Thousands marched through Copenhagen under slogans such as “Greenland is not for sale,” and voters and leaders alike have rallied around Greenland’s sovereignty amid escalating U.S. pressure, NPR reports.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, has defended the administration’s posture. On NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday, he said European nations lack the capacity to defend Greenland from future threats, framing U.S. involvement as necessary to deter rival powers. Bessent reprised that argument Tuesday in Davos, Switzerland, in a conversation with Fox News host Maria Bartiromo ahead of Trump’s arrival at the World Economic Forum.

Bessent, who is gay, said Trump views Greenland as “essential for the Golden Dome Missile Shield” and warned that if Greenland were threatened, the United States would be called upon to respond. “Greenland’s becoming more and more attractive for foreign conquest,” Bessent said, and argued that bringing the territory under U.S. control would prevent conflict rather than draw the United States into one.

McBride cautioned that any attempt to coerce or seize Greenland would threaten the cohesion of longstanding international partnerships.

“The possibility of any kind of acquisition or takeover of Greenland would fundamentally undermine the NATO alliance,” she said.

She also said Greenlandic leaders made their preference unmistakably clear in private meetings: when presented with a choice between Denmark and the United States, they choose Denmark.

Watch Rep. Sarah McBride talk about the congressional delagation trip to Denmark on MS Now below.

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