Expert on American delegation: They cannot influence Trump

The 11 US senators and members of Congress who are currently visiting Denmark are all "friends" of Denmark and Greenland. They understand and agree with the Danish-Greenlandic position, so in this way we speak to the opposite, which does not have much significance in the current conflict, but which can nevertheless give their voices more volume in the debate.

This is the assessment of Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, a senior researcher at DIIS on US foreign policy.

Support for the Kingdom

On Friday, members of Inatsisartut's Foreign and Security Policy Committee met with the delegation of US senators and congressmen to discuss the current crisis between Greenland, Denmark and the US in light of Trump's announcements to take over Greenland.

In statements from the delegation's leader - Democratic Senator Chris Coons - the meetings were about "showing support for the Kingdom of Denmark and discussing how to "deepen partnerships in accordance with shared principles of sovereignty and self-determination."

In addition to Chris Coon, representing Delaware, Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Peter Welch of Vermont, and Republican Senators Thom Tillis, representing North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski, representing Alaska. Finally, Democratic Congressmen Gregory Meeks, Madeleine Dean, Sara Jacobs, Sarah McBride, and Steny Hoyer participated.

– The specific group's political message is to show that there are voices in Congress in both parties who distance themselves from Donald Trump's aggression towards Greenland. And that there are politicians who respect Greenland's sovereignty and who want to strengthen ties between the Commonwealth and the USA, says Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard.

Limited but not insignificant power

The question is how much power the politicians in question have in trying to change the president's agenda:

– Their power is not insignificant, as they have a platform through their positions in the United States to speak to the American people via the media and thus influence public opinion.

- But it must also be said that although both Democrats and Republicans are represented in the delegation, none of them are close to Donald Trump or support MAGA, so they have only a limited ability to influence Trump and his administration.

Bills in Congress

The most prominent member of the delegation in relation to Greenland is Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard assesses:

– She is genuinely interested in Greenland and the Arctic, and has been for many years. She is probably also the politician in the US Congress who has the best understanding of what is happening in the Arctic.

Lisa Murkowski is described by Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard as a moderate Republican who is as far away from Donald Trump as one can possibly be in the Republican Party.

– She has often criticized Trump and was one of the few who voted for him to be impeached for the Congressional raid.  This means of course that she has zero ability to influence Trump. 

- But she is a senator, and she is, among other things, a co-signer of a bill that has just been introduced in Congress, which is basically about preventing the president from being able to annex or invade any NATO territory. So she of course has some power there. But in extension of this, I must also say that such a bill will probably not limit Trump.

The US Constitution states that when it comes to warfare, only Congress can declare war, and only Congress can secure the funding for warfare.

– According to the Constitution, the president is to act solely as head of the armed forces. But in practice, we have seen - not just under Trump - but under several presidents in recent times, that they look very much at the wording of the Constitution.

Economics might be able to stop Trump

However, according to Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, what might stop Trump is that after a possible invasion of Greenland, he must have secured funding for warfare or for the purchase of Greenland, and Congress can oppose this. In addition, he would also need to have two-thirds support for a new treaty, for example between Greenland and the USA.

– So after a potential horror scenario where Trump has used military force in Greenland, Congress has more power. He will have a hard time there. But the bill itself is not enough to stop him, says Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, who also estimates that the midterm elections in November could change the president's majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, which could ultimately make it more difficult for the president to implement his plans.