U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to invade Greenland earlier this year were misunderstood, the American ambassador to the European Union said Friday.
“It got interpreted that we were somehow threatening Greenland’s territorial integrity,” but “the president never said we were going to invade,” Andrew Puzder told attendees at the Brussels Economic Security Forum.
During his second term in office, Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of annexing Greenland, without excluding the use of military force, which caused consternation in Europe. Puzder said the president’s statements were useful to bring attention to Greenland’s strategic importance, but should not have been taken seriously.