US needs Greenland because of European 'weakness,' Bessent says

European "weakness" necessitates U.S. control of Greenland for global stability, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Sunday even as some lawmakers sounded alarms about the Trump administration's effort to acquire the Arctic territory held by Denmark, Reuters reported.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press" program, Bessent said taking ownership of Greenland is crucial in a geopolitical chess match with Russia and China. He made the remarks a day after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to implement tariffs on European Union members opposed to a U.S. acquisition, including Denmark, which has long been one of Washington's staunchest allies.

"We are the strongest country in the world," Bessent said. "Europeans project weakness. U.S. projects strength."

As tensions with the EU escalated on Sunday, Bessent said he believed European leaders would ultimately "come around" to the idea of U.S. control of Greenland. "I believe that the Europeans will understand that this is best for Greenland, best for Europe, and best for the United States," he said.

The U.S. Treasury chief said he had not recently discussed with Trump whether he is still considering using emergency powers to justify using force to take Greenland. But doing so would be "ridiculous" because there is no emergency in Greenland, said Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican who chairs the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee.

"The idea by the secretary that, oh, this is to prevent an emergency - now we're declaring emergencies to prevent emergencies?" Paul, who has long been a vocal opponent of aggressive U.S. efforts overseas, said on "Meet the Press."