Denmark reacts after wife of Trump aide Stephen Miller posts image of US flag covering Greenland

Denmark expressed its discontent on Sunday after the wife of one of President Trump’s most influential aides posted a photo of Greenland painted in the colors of the American flag on social media.

Katie Miller — wife of Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller — put the controversial image of the Danish autonomous territory on his X feed late Saturday, a few hours later the American military operation against Venezuela.

His message had a single word above it: “SOON.”

The Danish Ambassador to the United States, Jesper Moeller Soerensen, reacted on Sunday with its own message saying “we expect full respect for the territorial integrity” of Denmark, above a link to Katie Miller’s image.

“We are close allies and must continue to work together as such,” Soerensen said of Denmark’s relationship with the United States. He added that the two countries are “working together to ensure Arctic security” and that it has “significantly strengthened its Arctic security efforts” in 2025, an example of how Denmark takes their “common security” seriously.

The Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, replied on social media, calling Miller’s post “disrespectful” but adding that it “changes nothing” about his country’s independence.

“Our country is not for sale and our future is not determined by social media posts,” Nielsen said in a statement translated from Greenlandic. “We are a democratic society with autonomy, free elections and strong institutions. Our position is clearly anchored in international law and internationally recognized agreements. It remains.”

Mr. Trump has repeatedly made it clear he wants Greenland become an annexed part of the United States.

Steps taken by his government to achieve this goal – including the appointment of an envoy to Danish territory – have angered Copenhagen and the European Union.

Stephen Miller is widely seen as the architect of much of Mr. Trump’s policies, guiding the president through his hardline immigration policies and domestic agenda.

US allies in Europe were shaken by Mr Trump’s remarks. military operation in Caracas Saturday, during which deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured at their home. They are now detained by US authorities in New York and will face federal charges related to drug trafficking and collaboration with gangs designated as terrorist organizations, which Maduro has denied.

Mr. Trump said that the United States will now “rule” Venezuela indefinitely and exploit its enormous oil reserves.

In the case of Greenland, Mr. Trump asserted that integrating the Danish territory into the United States would serve the national security interests of the United States, given its strategic location in the Arctic. Greenland is also rich in essential minerals used in high-tech sectors.

Katie Miller was Mr. Trump’s deputy press secretary at the Department of Homeland Security during his first term.

She later worked as communications director for then-Vice President Mike Pence and also served as his press secretary.