Gingrich: Trump 'trying to project' strength with Greenland talk

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) says President-elect Trump is attempting to project strength with his recent remarks about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, comments that have not been well-received across the Atlantic.

“I think Trump, he's trying to project a sense of American power and of American engagement. You have all this talk about he's somehow going to be an isolationist, except he's deeply engaged in Greenland, he's deeply engaged a bunch of other things,” Gingrich said in a Wednesday interview with The Hill.

“I think for defensive purposes, Greenland is important, because if the Arctic Ocean becomes more open, the shortest route from China, Japan and Korea is across the Arctic instead of around Africa. And so it all of a sudden becomes a very different planet, and having an ability to project power into that trade route is important,” he added.

Trump, who returns to the White House on Jan. 20, has repeatedly floated new U.S. territorial acquisitions in his second term, including annexing Canada or potentially taking the Panama Canal by military force.

Regarding Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, Trump said at a Tuesday press conference that “we need it for national security.”

The president-elect’s son is also visiting the island this week, bringing further attention to the idea.

“Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland,” Trump wrote on social media. “The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

But the proposal has been firmly rejected by both Danish and European authorities, who say Greenland is not for sale.

“Despite Don Jr. having had a great trip — and everybody I've talked to about Greenland who's been there loves it, thinks it's amazing — there are about 39,000 people in Greenland, whether or not they have any interest at all in becoming Americans is dubious. Denmark doesn't seem excited about selling it,” Gingrich said.

But the former Speaker, who last month called Trump “a mythic figure, almost like the various Scandinavian Beowulfs” said he might be playing a long game.

“As long as I've known President Trump — it goes back many years before he ran — I have no idea what he's doing. He often thinks in terms that you look back later and go, ‘Ah, that's what he was doing.’ But you actually don't know going forward, because he's a really smart guy,” Gingrich said.

—Judy Kurtz contributed.