Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said that the Trump administration was “lying to the American people” about why he wanted to acquire Greenland
Partial transcript as follows:
JONATHAN KARL: Now you met with senior officials from Denmark and Greenland this week. How alarmed are they with what Trump is talking about regarding Greenland?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, they’re perplexed and alarmed because as you reported, Denmark and Greenland have both said to the United States, you can take what measures you need to protect the security of the United States and of course the NATO alliance. We have a base there already. And —
KARL: And we can expand that base.
VAN HOLLEN: And we can expand that base. I mean, you had that conversation with, you know, Congressman McCaul.
KARL: McCaul.
VAN HOLLEN: Which tells us that the president is lying to the American people when he says this is about security. This is not about security, Jon. This is about a land grab. Donald Trump wants to get his hands on the minerals and other resources of Greenland just like the real reason he went into Venezuela. Had nothing to do with stopping drugs from coming to the United States. It’s all about getting his hands on American oil for his billionaire buddies. In the case of Greenland, Ron Lauder, who’s a huge Trump supporter, is the person who first told Trump, go after Greenland.
KARL: And is there anything that Congress can do about it? I mean, I’m hearing Republicans — you heard McCaul, I’m hearing some of your Senate colleagues, Republican senator colleagues, very uneasy with what Trump is saying about Greenland. Is there anything you can do about it?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, with respect to use of force, if our Republican colleagues wanted to, they could. We could, for example, cut off any funds that could be used for military purposes with respect to Greenland. We could take action under the war powers resolution.
But a lot of our Republican colleagues talk big until it comes time to vote. We saw that just this past week where two Republican senators who had voted in favor of moving forward the War Powers resolution on Venezuela backed off. So, they have to stop giving Donald Trump a blank check.
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