Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Trump, asserted on Monday that Greenland rightfully belonged to the United States and that the Trump administration could seize the semiautonomous Danish territory if it wanted.
“Nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland,” Mr. Miller told Jake Tapper, the CNN host, after being asked repeatedly whether he would rule out using military force.
The remarks were part of a vocal push by Mr. Miller, long a powerful behind-the-scenes player in Trump administration policy, to justify American imperialism and a vision for a new world order in which the United States could freely overthrow national governments and take foreign territory and resources so long as it was in the national interest.
“We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” he said. “These are the iron laws of the world since the beginning of time.”
Mr. Miller made his comments after his wife posted an image on social media over the weekend suggesting that the United States would soon take control of Greenland, and as Mr. Trump has renewed his own push for the island. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark urged Mr. Trump on Sunday to “stop the threats” to annex Greenland, in effect attacking a NATO ally.
The United States’ taking Greenland by force would rip apart the central agreement that underpins the NATO military alliance, of which Denmark and the United States are both founding members. Under that treaty, an attack on any member is treated as an attack on all members. Mr. Trump has previously said he would not rule out using the military to take Greenland.
Mr. Miller also echoed Mr. Trump’s intent to rule Venezuela and exploit its vast oil reserves after a U.S. raid seized President Nicolás Maduro and his wife from Caracas. Even some of America’s staunchest allies have criticized the raid, and the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, said the raid had violated the U.N. charter.
“The United States of America is running Venezuela,” Mr. Miller said, dismissing international treaties enshrining a nation’s right to independence and sovereignty as “international niceties.” (What exactly is meant by “running” Venezuela is a matter of some dispute; Secretary of State Marco Rubio has shied away from the descriptor — even as Trump insists that the United States is very much “in charge” of Venezuela — and Speaker Mike Johnson, who has vigorously defended the military operation, has maintained that the United States is not engaged in military hostilities or an occupation.)
Mr. Miller’s language echoed a dark history of the United States’ governing weaker, smaller states in Latin America by flexing its military might. Mr. Miller asserted that a U.S. military blockade of the South American country of 28 million people would give the United States control of Venezuela.
“We set the terms and conditions,” Mr. Miller said. “We have a complete embargo on all of their oil and their ability to do commerce. So for them to do commerce, they need our permission. For them to be able to run an economy, they need our permission. So the United States is in charge. The United States is running the country.”
Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, denounced Mr. Miller’s remarks soon after, saying on CNN that “Mr. Miller gave a very good definition of imperialism.”
“Trump has made it clear he wants to take Venezuela’s oil,” he added. “Last I heard, this is what imperialism is all about. And I suspect that people all over the world are saying, ‘Wow, we’re going back to where we were 100 years ago, or 50 years ago, where the big, powerful countries were exploiting poorer countries for their natural resources.’”
Chris Cameron is a Times reporter covering Washington, focusing on breaking news and the Trump administration.
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