Rand Paul says “I will do everything in my power to stop any kind of military takeover of Greenland”
GOP Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday he opposes any US military action Greenland as the White House says to explore all the options for finding a place.
“It’s not going to happen under my watch,” Paul said on “CBS Mornings” about the military in Greenland. “I will do everything to stop any kind of military takeover of Greenland.”
The Kentucky senator, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has long opposed US military action overseas. He voted to develop a military power solutionwhich would have limited the president’s authority to continue the military campaign in Venezuela, but Senate Republicans blocked the measure. The Trump administration has not previously sought the approval of Congress launching the strikes of last week. The Senate is expected to bring up the war powers resolution again this week.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said about President Trump’s interest in Greenland that he and his team are “discussing a number of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, using US military is always an option for the commander-in-chief.”
Greenland is a sovereign state in the Kingdom of Denmark. A lawyer and a source familiar with the negotiations said Secretary of State Marco Rubio told members of Congress at a briefing on Tuesday that Mr. Trump will buy Greenland and not take it by force.
Paul did not object to buying Greenland, noting that the US had acquired the territory in the past.
“Part of the United States came to us through the Louisiana Purchase,” Paul noted. “Alaska came to us by purchase. But you didn’t come to that purchase like any deal or diplomacy by insulting your opponent. You get there by trying to please and get your opponent to agree to this, because it will have to be done voluntarily.”
Paul said that this type of action in Greenland would have to be initiated by a vote of its more than 50,000 citizens declaring their independence from Denmark, adding, “I think the people of Greenland are inclined to do” this.
That would also have to be followed by “some kind of provision that makes it better to be part of the United States,” he continued.
When Mr. Trump announcing strikes on Venezuela, Paul suggested that it marked the beginning of “The Doctrine of Don-roe,” leading to questions about the spread extending to other areas, including Greenland and Canada.
Paul said he had “never thought” about taking Greenland, but “now that it’s been raised, if you want to do that, you don’t do it by beating people in the same way, like in Canada.”
Mr. Trump referred to Canada as the “51st district” and imposed punitive tariffs against the US’s northern neighbor, raising tariffs by up to 35% in August, although most of the goods are exempted because they are covered by the US-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement of 2020.
Paul said he had been consistent in his opposition to overseas war, and emphasized the importance of maintaining Congress’s constitutional authority to declare war.
“I think this is an important debate,” said Paul. “It doesn’t mean that I have anything against President Trump. It doesn’t mean that I don’t even like the outcome of (former Venezuelan President Nicolás) Maduro… But I think the constitutional debate is important.”
