Trump To Norway: No Nobel, No Greenland? The Letter That Has Shocked Europe
As news began breaking very early Monday of President Trump's scathing letter to Norway over the country's failure to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, some pundits and journalists immediately questioned whether it is real.
But confirmation came soon after. In the letter addressed to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Trump explained that he no longer feels obligated to focus exclusively on peace, while repeating his intent for US control over Greenland. In essence he lays out that no Nobel might turn into no Greenland for Europe (as Denmark exercises control over the resource-rich autonomous territory).
"Dear Jonas: Since your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be dominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States," the US President wrote.
Such is an example of kind of over the top and trolling-style rhetoric in the letter which has given people pause, questioning its authenticity.
"Denmark cannot protect this land from Russia or China… The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland," he added.
As for whether Trump indeed wrote it, and concerning the bombastic letter's authenticity, Forbes has noted that "According to PBS Newshour’s Nick Schifrin, who first reported on the matter, the letter has been forwarded by the National Security Council staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington."
The President also in the letter takes the opportunity to bash Denmark, saying it cannot protect Greenland from Russia or China, and again questioned its legal rights to Greenland: "There are no written documents; it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also."
The message in full, as first reported by a PBS correspondent:
Hours later, Norway issues a full, formal response:
Statement from Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre regarding communications with President Donald Trump.
"I can confirm that this is a text message that I received yesterday afternoon from President Trump. It came in response to a short text message from me to President Trump sent earlier on the same day, on behalf of myself and the President of Finland Alexander Stubb. In our message to Trump we conveyed our opposition to his announced tariff increases against Norway, Finland and select other countries. We pointed to the need to de-escalate and proposed a telephone conversation between Trump, Stubb and myself on the same day.
The response from Trump came shortly after the message was sent. It was his decision to share his message with other NATO leaders. Norway’s position on Greenland is clear. Greenland is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and Norway fully supports the Kingdom of Denmark on this matter. We also support that NATO in a responsible way is taking steps to strengthen security and stability in the Arctic. As regards the Nobel Peace Prize, I have clearly explained, including to president Trump what is well known, the prize is awarded by an independent Nobel Committee and not the Norwegian Government."
Norway's PM Store has since explained that letter came in response to a joint message he had earlier sent to Trump together with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, rejecting White House plans to impose higher tariffs on Scandinavian countries. Other leading EU countries have also complained and are pushing back publicly:
MERZ: GERMANY, EU ALLIES DETERMINED TO AVOID TARIFF ESCALATION
"We pointed out the need to de-escalate the exchange and requested a phone call between President Trump, President Stubb and myself," Store said, and reiterated Norway's stance on Greenland is unchanged.
