Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) discussed President-elect Donald Trump's interest in Greenland during a recent appearance on Fox Business's Kudlow, saying his announcements are "setting discourse" on American foreign policy.
Host Larry Kudlow suggested Greenland is "integral to American interests" because it has rare earth mineral deposits and access to the Arctic Circle, which Russia and China have sought to dominate.
Rep. Steube wholeheartedly agreed with Kudlow's assessment, saying Greenland has "huge national security implications, both with Russia and China and as you said, there is a large deposit" and riffed Democrats as being "anything Trump is for, they are against."
"But I think he is onto something really good here, and I think based on what he said, I think the people of Greenland support it," Rep. Steube continued, referencing the supposedly warm welcome Donald Trump Jr. received during a recent visit to the island. Still, a Greenlander lawmaker alleged it was "all staged," according to The Hill.
Nevertheless, Kudlow suggested that rather than directly owning Greenland, which seeks independence from Denmark, the United States could instead pursue a "broad-based treaty" for trade and defense.
The Florida Congressman suggested that was not off the table, as "I think what Trump is doing is setting a discourse and saying, 'This is what we would like,' but that opens up a lot of opportunities on treaties and trade and all of these things that we can do."
Steube further emphasized a point made by Kudlow's other guest, former national security adviser Robert O'Brien, that if Denmark is unwilling or unable to protect Greenland from Russia and China, "then we [the United States] should be able to do it, but we are not going to do it for free, as Mr. Trump said, and there should be something for America in that as well."
Trump has recently expressed interest in other foreign territories, including the Panama Canal and Canada, mockingly referring to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as "Governor."
