Let’s be very clear: the White House publicly threatened military force against a NATO ally over territory it does not own, does not govern, and has no legal claim to. That is not a policy debate. That is a line being crossed.

When the administration says that “utilizing the U.S. military is always an option” to acquire Greenland, it is not floating ideas. It is normalizing conquest. “Always an option” is an interesting way to describe invading an ally. Most countries call that a declaration of intent.

Stephen Miller’s contribution—questioning Denmark’s “right” to Greenland as if sovereignty were an improv exercise—is grotesque. Greenland is not an unclaimed resource node in a video game. It is a self-governing territory whose people have repeatedly and explicitly rejected annexation. Erasing their agency is not incidental; it is the point. If sovereignty were decided by who asked the loudest questions on television, the world would be uninhabitable by noon.

This administration keeps invoking NATO while simultaneously threatening to destroy it. You cannot claim to be “the power of NATO” and then suggest military action against another NATO country. NATO is an alliance, not a subsidiary. The difference matters—unless you think treaties are just vibes with flags. Denmark’s prime minister is not exaggerating when she says an American attack on Greenland would end NATO as we know it. Alliances do not survive when their strongest member decides borders are optional.

And let’s dispense with the historical fantasy being peddled here. When the U.S. special envoy to Greenland says America has “never” engaged in imperialism, that is not ignorance—it is audacity. History responded by laughing, briefly, before crying. This country has toppled governments, annexed territory, enforced regimes at gunpoint, and justified it all with the same language now being deployed about Greenland. Pretending otherwise doesn’t cleanse the act; it just reveals how unserious the people making these arguments are.

The timing matters. The administration just conducted a shocking operation in Venezuela and immediately pivoted to threatening Greenland. That is not coincidence. It is escalation logic. When force is rewarded, it becomes habit. When consequences fail to materialize, ambition expands.

Which brings us to the most chilling quote of all: Miller’s assertion that “nobody’s going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.” That is not a defense. It is a confession. Power mistaken for permission is not realism. It’s how empires talk right before things go very badly.

If the United States claims the right to take Greenland because it can, it forfeits every moral argument it has ever made against Russian aggression, Chinese expansionism, or any violation of sovereignty anywhere else on the planet. You do not get to oppose imperialism selectively. The world is not obligated to pretend you’re different just because you say so.

Greenland’s leaders are asking for dialogue. European allies are reaffirming basic principles of territorial integrity. The administration’s response is menace, memes, and thinly veiled threats. That contrast tells you everything. The administration keeps asking why anyone would resist this. The answer is simple: because that’s what the rules are for.

Congress should treat this as an emergency, not a provocation to be managed. Senator Gallego is right to pursue a war powers resolution. This must be stopped early, loudly, and without euphemism.

Because once a country starts talking about invading its allies, the problem is no longer Greenland. It’s us.