Cruz cites US ‘history of acquiring new lands’ in Greenland push
Sen. Ted Cruz defended President Trump’s reported interest in acquiring Greenland, arguing on Fox News that U.S. expansion has ancient precedent (e.g., the Louisiana Purchase and Alaska) and that Greenland offers economic and strategic benefits, including Arctic positioning and missile-defense value. Cruz said acquiring Greenland would be “overwhelmingly in america’s national interest.”
Several senators and foreign leaders pushed back. Sen. Tim Kaine signaled plans to curb presidential war powers over the issue, and Sen. Rand Paul said he’s heard no Republican backing for a military seizure or invasion. Sen. Lisa Murkowski warned Congress has tools to block any forced takeover. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized U.S. tariff threats tied to the controversy, and European officials held an emergency meeting after Trump imposed 10% tariffs on some countries opposing the Greenland effort. Greenland remains a Danish territory protected under NATO, and officials say any hostile action by an ally would threaten the alliance.
Cruz cites America’s ‘history of acquiring new lands’ in defending Trump’s Greenland push
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) suggested that President Donald Trump is harkening back to the history of the United States by seeking to acquire Greenland.
Cruz appeared on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures the same day the European Union held an emergency meeting in Belgium after Trump imposed 10% tariffs on some countries opposed to his bid to acquire Greenland.
“Look, the whole history of America has been a history of acquiring new lands and new territories, whether you go back to Thomas Jefferson making the Louisiana Purchase — about half of the United States of America today — or you go back to America purchasing Alaska from Russia,” Cruz said. “There are enormous economic benefits to America, but it’s also — like Alaska — it is located on the Arctic, which is a major theater for major military conflict with either Russia or China. It’s also critical for the Golden Dome and defending America from potential missile strikes.”
He added that it is “overwhelmingly in America’s national interest to acquire Greenland.”
Meanwhile, Cruz’s colleagues in the Senate disagree. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) previously foreshadowed another resolution to curb the war powers of Trump, this time with Greenland. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also revealed on Sunday that the acquisition effort has zero Republican support.
“On the war powers, or on militarily invading Greenland, I’ve heard of no Republican support for that,” Paul said on NBC News’s Meet the Press. “Even the most hawkish members of our caucus have said they won’t support that.”
Rand Paul on invading Greenland: “I’ve heard no Republican support for that. Even the most hawkish members of our caucus have said they won’t support it. He keeps rattling the cage. As far as trying to buy it peacefully, you don’t get purchasers to come around by berating them.” pic.twitter.com/y30CjlRwnM
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 18, 2026
MURKOWSKI SAYS CONGRESS HAS ‘TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL’ TO BLOCK GREENLAND SEIZURE
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has sounded the alarm after Trump’s tariff threat over the weekend, saying “it is now even clearer that this is an issue that reaches far beyond our own borders.” She previously dismissed the takeover effort as making “absolutely no sense.”
The Danish-owned territory is covered by NATO’s security guarantee. Should Greenland be invaded by another NATO ally, European officials have warned it would mean the end of the international agreement.
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