U.S. Rep. Keith Self also explains why the U.S. has a sudden interest in taking more control over the world’s largest island.
DALLAS — After weeks of threatening military action and tariffs against NATO members who didn’t support a U.S. takeover of Greenland, President Donald Trump finally said America would not use military force.
Despite criticism and complaints from many of our NATO allies, U.S. Representative Keith Self, R-3rd District, says he doesn’t think the rift will cause any long-term damage to the alliance or our relationships.
“I think it will pass because this is President Trump’s, this is the way he does business. He plows the ground and people get upset. And then he says, well, why don’t we do this? Why don’t we have an agreement and they come around,” the Republican told us on Inside Texas Politics. “So, they’ll get over it because frankly, we still spend the majority of NATO defending Europe. We have the power projection capability that they do not.”
The President also recently announced the “framework” of a deal involving the Danish territory, though specifics remain sparse. It is reported that U.S. access to mineral rights in Greenland is a part of the negotiations, particularly rare-earth minerals. The U.S. is also said to be seeking the ability to station more American troops at more American bases.
The President argues that only the United States has the power to protect Greenland, and by extension, American interests.
Congressman Self says he still needs to know more of the details from the framework agreement before he can say if there’s anything truly concerning, from his perspective, in the deal. And he says those details will also give us a good idea of how the rest of Europe is feeling about the Greenland situation.
But at the same time, the lawmaker argues there is good reason for America’s interest in the world’s largest island.
“First of all, the critical minerals. Secondly, the trade routes that are now going through the
Arctic and they’re becoming very important,” Self said.
Those new trade routes are opening up because of the melting of ice caps in Greenland. As the glaciers melt, new shipping lanes appear.
Our interest in Greenland is also rooted in self-defense. The territory is essential for America’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system.
“When you look at a map that has the North Pole in the center of it, you see how important it is because any missiles coming in will go over the North Pole. So, it then completes the line that we need for the Golden Dome,” he explained. “The Golden Dome is going to have to be a much longer range, much higher altitude, so it’s going to be different. That’s why we need Greenland for that defense using the Golden Dome.”
We also asked Rep. Self if he agrees with the tactics being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis. Recent events during deportation efforts in that city include the fatal shooting of a U.S. mother by an ICE agent, legal challenges, the deployment of thousands of agents, and, most recently, the decision by hundreds of businesses to close for a day of protest.
Congressman Self says it is essential that the U.S. kick criminals out of the country and stop waste, fraud and abuse. And the Republican implied that without a complete list of exactly who is a criminal, the dragnet can catch innocent citizens.
“I wish that we had a complete list of everybody we wanted to police up. We knew exactly where they were. We know exactly who they were. We knew exactly why we were going to arrest them. That list doesn’t exist,” he told us. “They have got to go in and find those people, especially when the politicians, the elected officials, and the law enforcement won’t support them. They are making this harder for ICE.”