Trump Says He’ll Forgo Sending US Troops to Minnesota For Now: Q&A

President Donald Trump said he would hold off on invoking the Insurrection Act after previously threatening to use the law to deploy US military troops in Minnesota.

“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he departed the White House.

President Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on goods from nations that oppose his push to take control of Greenland, stepping up his rhetoric while Denmark hosted US lawmakers on its home turf following meetings in Washington this week.

“I may put a tariff on countries if they don’t go along with Greenland, because we need Greenland for national security,” Trump said at a White House event on health care, without providing further details.

Trump has sought to use his sweeping tariff agenda to pressure other nations to make economic concessions and align themselves with his foreign policy priorities, and on Friday signaled he would include Greenland in that push. The president earlier this week threatened to impose 25% tariffs on goods from countries that trade with Iran, but has yet to follow through.

At the same time, a group of US senators and representatives met lawmakers in the Danish parliament on Friday, with protests against Trump’s plans due across Denmark on Saturday. Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, a veteran of Arctic affairs who has emerged as one of the most prominent congressional critics of Trump’s Greenland ambitions, underscored that a majority of Americans are opposed to acquiring the polar territory.

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski told reporters in Copenhagen. “And I think that’s what you’re hearing with this delegation.”

The trip follows a week of meetings in Washington by Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen with members of Congress on the heels of talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, also participated.

Denmark and Greenland seek support from Capitol Hill that could help constrain any future moves by the White House to threaten Greenland, given lawmakers’ control over federal spending. Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat representing Delaware, who led the delegation to Copenhagen, said Friday’s talks were “good and robust.”

“We spoke with clarity about the importance that the people of Greenland make their decisions about their future,” Coons said. “It was a constructive and hopeful dialogue, and we look forward to continuing.”

Denmark and Greenland remain in a stalemate with the US over the future of the world’s largest island, though officials this week agreed to set up a working group to manage the diplomatic dispute. Trump has repeatedly insisted the US needs to control the territory, an ambition that remains unresolved and has been rejected time and again by Danes and Greenlanders.

“NATO has been dealing with us on Greenland,” Trump told reporters on Friday. “We need Greenland for national security very badly. If we don’t have it, we have a big hole in national security.”

On Saturday, several thousand people are expected to take to the streets of Copenhagen to protest against Trump’s ambitions. First planned for only the capital, rallies are also due in three major Danish cities and Nuuk.

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