Rep. Blake Moore urges cooperation with Denmark, rejects military action over Greenland
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Summary
Representative Blake Moore said he supports increasing U.S. presence in Greenland to deter China and Russia but rejected military action, urging coordination with Denmark and NATO and calling resource-extraction talk largely "a talking point" for now.
Representative Blake Moore said in an interview that the United States should work with Denmark and NATO to increase presence in Greenland to counter China and Russia, but that military action or unilateral annexation is not an appropriate path.
The president recently said, "But right now, we are going to do something on Greenland whether they like it or not, because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland," comments that drew criticism from members of both parties. "The remarks of the president are inexplainable to me," Democratic Representative Madeleine Dean said in a separate remark, adding, "It is about rare earths... He sees dollar signs in his eyes."
Representative Blake Moore, a Republican from Utah, told the interviewer he supports the goal of keeping China and Russia from gaining strategic footholds in the Arctic but said those goals can be met through allied cooperation. "It's in everybody's best interest with our NATO allies for that not to happen," Moore said, arguing Denmark has been "amenable to working with us to increase presence" and noting Denmark exceeds NATO spending targets and is an F-35 partner.
Moore also downplayed immediate prospects for resource extraction in Greenland. "It's more of a talking point than there's actionable work that can be done on that front right now," he said, acknowledging that reducing reliance on China for rare earth minerals is a legitimate policy aim but calling operational extraction more distant.
When asked whether he expected any U.S. military action after the president declined to rule it out and with reports of increased Danish military activity, Moore said: "This should not be something we we should not be doing this. No." He urged joint exercises, intelligence sharing and other cooperative measures instead.
Moore said he hoped the White House would emphasize coordinated options in discussions, and repeated his preference that efforts in Greenland proceed through allied partnerships rather than unilateral political initiatives.
