Washington DC, January 20, 2026 --  

Appeasing dictators' territorial demands is an unspeakable taboo. Yet in the case of Greenland, it may beat the alternatives.

When Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain signed the 1938 Munich agreement handing parts of Czechoslovakia to the Nazis, his reputation was headed for ruin. One year later, an emboldened Germany invaded Poland, sparking World War II. Chamberlain's name became a synonym for foolish appeasement.

Trump's wasteland. Map outline courtesy Wikimedia Commons. Annotations by Author.

Fast forward almost a century and the new authoritarian bully is American President Donald Trump. His demands that Denmark sell Greenland to the United States has been rebuffed by America's leading NATO allies including the UK, France and Germany. Those countries now face new tariff threats if a deal on Greenland is not granted.

Furious Europeans are threatening retaliation while planning for an unfortunate end of the NATO appliance. Vladimir Putin must be chuckling with glee at his good fortune.

Europeans have as much cause to be angry as Americans have to be deeply ashamed and embarrassed. But Americans, who largely oppose Trump's actions, have limited ability to reign in their loudmouth President. It is therefore up to the Europeans to steer a thoughtfully way out of the crisis.

Here's an idea: Just let the crazy man have the big chunk of ice. We've all heard the reasons that Denmark can't sell-- it's up to the Greenlanders to decide their fate, and they don't want to join the United States.

Fair enough, but 99.9 percent of the island of Greenland has no resident Greenlanders. The vast majority of the territory has no Danes, no Inuits or people of any kind. Dividing the territory between its thinly populated coastal areas and the rest, leaves an enormous wilderness including the ice sheet and a number of unpopulated fjords on its north and east coasts.

This vast wasteland has little use to the Danes and Inuits, which is precisely why it is uninhabited. But it will look impressive to Trump on a map -- especially when paired with the existing U.S. base at Pituffik (formerly known as Thule). In a nod to Trump's fondness for all things Nordic, the base and adjacent settlement could be renamed to Thule (or even "Trump" as a brazen appeal to his insatiable ego).

Let's not sugar coat this -- partitioning the island of Greenland and ceding most to the United States would be a brazen act of appeasement toward an authoritarian bully. Much like the Munich conference in 1938, it would be done in the hopes of averting a larger conflict. Isn't this exactly what Lord Chamberlain's folly taught us not to do?

No. Heated rhetoric aside, we should recognize that Donald Trump is no Adolph Hitler nor a Vladimir Putin. He is not building a thousand year reich. He is an elderly con artist and reality TV showman who was narrowly elected to America's presidency by swindling the same electorate that voted him out just four years earlier. He is widely unpopular with Americans for many reasons including his bullying of allies over Greenland. In three years time, he will be out of office -- barring a stunning maneuver to secure an unconstitutional third tern. And in the words of Donald Trump's former National Security Advisor turned critic John Bolton, Trump "hasn't got the brains" to be dictator.

In contrast, the NATO alliance has survived for over 75 years, including the first Trump presidency. Why on earth should Europe be baited into a path that ends the Western alliance to fight a man who will probably be gone in 36 months? Even if Vice President JD Vance succeeds Trump, he is unlikely to be so contemptuous toward Europe. This is a case where we need to hold our noses and wait for this foul-smelling administration to pass.

Appeasing Trump's demands does not necessarily mean handing over even part of Greenland. Just agreeing to an open-ended process to transfer its uninhabited parts could serve that goal. Combined with a sale price and the need for approval from the U.S. Congress, the timeline won't be quick. Even if this won't run out the clock until Trump leaves office, it probably will run out the clock until Democrats have the chance to take over the House of Representatives in November. Denmark and Europe might be saved from Trump's wrath via House Democrats taking the blow.

But worst case scenario, what if America does seize a chunk of Greenland? Is stopping a bully from taking a big ice sheet and some uninhabited fjords worth sacrificing the NATO alliance? No way. Europe's politicians must recognize that the path of appeasement may be its least bad option.

Related web columns:

Ugly Americans, May 20, 2025