Former President Donald Trump's recent social media activity, particularly a map posted online, has caused consternation among North Atlantic nations.
During the recent holiday weekend, Trump shared a map on Truth Social that depicted the United States encompassing all of North America and extending into Greenland and Iceland, with the territory colored in the American flag's red, white, and blue.
This map-making exercise has evoked past statements by Trump, including his earlier discussions about potentially making Canada the 51st state and his frequent musings about acquiring Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark.
"It’s disturbing and, in many ways, completely inappropriate,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told the national broadcaster DR. “It’s obviously a sign that the U.S. president still harbors some kind of maximalist vision in his own mind. We need to rein that in.”
In Iceland, Foreign and Defense Secretary Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir summoned U.S. Ambassador Billy Long to a meeting, national broadcaster RÚV reported. Arctic nations have been on alert since Trump intensified his rhetoric earlier in the year regarding U.S. control of Greenland.
Concerns in Iceland, located approximately 180 miles from Greenland, were heightened when Trump mistakenly referenced Iceland four times while discussing his intentions for Greenland. Iceland, a member of NATO, subsequently moved up a referendum on whether to resume stalled negotiations for European Union membership. Voters ultimately rejected the measure on August 30, which was partly promoted as a means to strengthen European ties and insulate the country from geopolitical instability.
Additionally, thousands of Icelanders signed a petition urging their prime minister to reject Ambassador Long after he made a remark earlier this year about Iceland becoming the 52nd U.S. state and appointing himself governor. Long has since apologized and assumed his post in Reykjavik.
Trump has also previously irked Canada with suggestions of it becoming a U.S. state, initiating a trade war, and recently renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America." In addition to the global map, Trump also suggested renaming the state of New Mexico as "New America" over the Labor Day weekend.