A GOP lawmaker said he’d consider supporting an impeachment of President Donald Trump if he launches a U.S. invasion of Greenland and called his push to acquire the territory “utter buffoonery,” according to a new report.
Representative Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska who is not seeking reelection, told the Omaha World-Herald this week that he would strongly consider supporting a Greenland-related impeachment of Trump.
"I don't want to give you a definite yes or no, but I would lean that way. It would be a total mistake to invade an ally. It would be catastrophic to our allies and everything. It's just the worst idea ever in my view,” Bacon said.
Trump has already been impeached twice, but was acquitted by the Senate both times. In 2019, Trump was impeached for the first time on two articles: obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. Trump then became the first president to be impeached twice in 2021, when he was charged with “incitement of insurrection” following the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Bacon is also the sole Republican co-sponsor on a new House bill that seeks to prevent military action against NATO countries and territories, such as Greenland. Bacon said the legislation “should be unnecessary.”
"It's ridiculous that this has to even be done. But when the president talks about taking Greenland one way or the other way every day this last week or so and that it's unacceptable if Greenland refuses to be part of the United States, I felt like I needed to make a statement that Republicans disagree,” Bacon told the Omaha World-Herald.
He added: “It's utter buffoonery to think that we should compel Greenland to be part of the United States.”
When asked about Bacon’s remarks, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Independent that “President Trump was not elected to preserve the status quo – he is a visionary leader who is always generating creative ideas to bolster US national security.”
“Many of this President’s predecessors recognized the strategic logic of acquiring Greenland, but only President Trump has had the courage to pursue this seriously. As the President said, NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States, and Greenlanders would be better served if protected by the United States from modern threats in the Arctic region,” Kelly said.
Trump has repeatedly argued the U.S. must acquire Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark, for national security purposes. However, only 17 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s push to acquire the island, and a significant majority of both Republican and Democratic voters oppose using military force to annex it, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Wednesday.
“I’ll be candid with you. There’s so many Republicans mad about this,” Bacon told the Omaha World-Herald. “If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency.”
He isn’t the only "publicly-dissenting" Republican voice when it comes to Greenland. Sen. Mitch McConnell took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to voice his frustration.
“It’s about whether the United States intends to face a constellation of strategic adversaries with capable friends — or commit an unprecedented act of strategic self-harm and go it alone,” he said, according to Mediaite, adding it would be “more disastrous for the President’s legacy than withdrawing from Afghanistan was for his predecessor.”
Buying the island could also cost the U.S. up to $700 billion — which is more than half of the Defense Department’s annual budget, according to NBC News.
Danish and Greenlandic officials met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington Wednesday to address the ongoing push to acquire the territory. But Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said a "fundamental disagreement” remains following the talks.
“We didn't manage to change the American position. It's clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland,” Rasmussen said at a press conference Wednesday.
“We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom,” he added.
Following the meeting, Trump reiterated his position while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office.
"Greenland is very important for the national security, including of Denmark. And the problem is there's not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there's everything we can do. You found that out last week with Venezuela,” Trump said Wednesday.
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