WASHINGTON — Former U.S. President Donald Trump has linked his renewed interest in acquiring Greenland to his long-standing frustration over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, according to reports first published by PBS and confirmed by an official in the Norwegian Prime Minister’s office.
In an extraordinary message to Norway’s Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, Trump reportedly expressed disappointment at not being honored by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, suggesting it had freed him from focusing solely on peace.
“Considering your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped eight wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace,” Trump wrote. “I can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America.”
The letter came in response to a joint message from Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who had expressed opposition to Trump’s proposed tariffs on Norway, Finland, and other European nations.
In his reply, Støre clarified that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by an independent committee, not by the Norwegian government, emphasizing that Norway had no influence over Trump’s omission.
Trump’s message followed his threat to impose an additional 10 percent tariff on European goods, citing resistance to his plan to annex Greenland — an autonomous territory of Denmark and a NATO member — from February 1.
The proposal has alarmed NATO allies, raising fears that Trump’s stance could undermine the alliance’s unity.
“Denmark cannot protect that land from Russia or China,” Trump wrote. “There are no real ownership documents — just that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there too.”
He further claimed, “I have done more for NATO than any other person since its founding. Now NATO should do something for the United States. The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland.”
While the United States has long served as the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security, many NATO members have shared the burden of recent conflicts — including Denmark, which lost 43 soldiers during the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan.
