| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
|
Geopolitical Crisis in Greenland
00:15:27
|
||
|
unidentified
|
Hey Jennifer, it's an amazing show to get real opinions from real people. | |
| Appreciate you guys' non-biased coverage. | ||
| I love politics and I love C-SPAN because I get to hear all the voices. | ||
| You and C-SPAN show the truth. | ||
| Back to the universe for C-SPAN. | ||
| the one essential news network. | ||
| It isn't just an idea. | ||
| It's a process. | ||
| A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles. | ||
| It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted. | ||
| Democracy in real time. | ||
| This is your government at work. | ||
| This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered. | ||
| Welcome back. | ||
| Joining us now to talk about the Trump administration's plans for Greenland as top officials meet with officials from Denmark and Greenland is Evan Blum, an expert on Arctic policy from the German Marshall Fund. | ||
| Evan, thank you so much for being with us this morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Great to be here. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| All right, let's dive in. | ||
| Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubier, they're meeting with Greenland and Denmark officials today after President Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to make Greenland a U.S. territory. | ||
| Can you just walk us through why the Trump administration and President Trump specifically feels that this is such a necessary endeavor for the U.S.'s national security and other issues? | ||
| Well, the President and the administration are right that the U.S. has strong national security interests in Greenland, both economic and in terms of military security. | ||
| And that's been the case for many decades. | ||
| So it's something that is particularly of interest now that the Arctic is opening up. | ||
| With climate change, there's receding sea ice. | ||
| And as a result, there's greater access to the entire region. | ||
| There's greater activity by Russia and others. | ||
| So there's a sense that there's a focus on Greenland and the U.S. connection to it that I think they find important. | ||
| But why is it important to then try to acquire Greenland? | ||
| I mean, I want to read you this true social that the President posted this morning. | ||
| He says, the United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security. | ||
| It is vital for the golden dome that we are building. | ||
| NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. | ||
| If we don't, Russia or China will, and that's not going to happen. | ||
| Militarily, without the vast power of the United States, much of which I built during my first term and am now bringing to a new and even higher level, NATO would not be an effective force or deterrent, not even close. | ||
| They know that, and so do I. NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the United States. | ||
| Anything less than that is unacceptable. | ||
| The president has said that his administration will get Greenland the easy way or the hard way, whether or not the officials there like it or not. | ||
| I mean, why is it important not to just have a base there as we do now, but actually own Greenland as the president wants to? | ||
| Well, I think that most people would say that the U.S. can accomplish its key goals far short of acquiring a part of what is the territory of an allied country. | ||
| So to be absolutely clear, Greenland is part of Denmark. | ||
| It's a semi-autonomous territory. | ||
| And its future depends on not just Denmark, but the people of Greenland. | ||
| And so the question becomes: how does the U.S. achieve its legitimate goals short of either going in and taking it or putting so much pressure on Denmark that somehow it cedes some sort of sovereignty? | ||
| The problem with that entire scenario is that it tends to undermine NATO. | ||
| So it's not just an Arctic issue or a Greenland issue. | ||
| You're talking about it undermines the idea of him purchasing or taking by force undermines NATO, not just having an expanded base there. | ||
| Oh, well, if there's cooperation with Denmark to have more military bases or economic activity, that's something that can be negotiated and that can actually promote NATO. | ||
| If we're talking about the future of NATO, however, Denmark is an allied country. | ||
| If you use military force against an allied country, it becomes a question of how NATO can continue. | ||
| And even going down that road is creating ripples in the alliance that are causing great concern in Europe in particular. | ||
| Now, before we continue this conversation, Evan, I want to invite our viewers to join in on the conversation. | ||
| We are talking about Trump's plans for Greenland. | ||
| Democrats, your line is 202-748-8000. | ||
| Republicans, your line is 202-748-8001. | ||
| And Independents, your line is 202-748-8002. | ||
| So can you, since we know that administration officials are working or are meeting with Denmark and Greenland officials, can you kind of game out the possible, you know, how this would play out, the possible scenarios that exist in terms of what could happen? | ||
| So one aspect of this relates to military security. | ||
| And in the past, the U.S. has had a larger military footprint in Greenland cooperatively with Denmark. | ||
| And that could certainly be increased through agreements, including ones that already exist that allow for U.S. presence in Greenland. | ||
| The other issue is critical minerals and rare earth minerals that are really important to the future of the U.S. economy and other economies. | ||
| And with the Chinese dominating with respect to critical minerals throughout the world, this is an opportunity to see whether the U.S. has sufficient rights in the minerals that exist in Greenland. | ||
| And Greenland has been quite clear that they are open to investment from the U.S. and they create a regulatory environment in which it's possible to have that kind of investment by the U.S. and its allies. | ||
| So certainly that is something that can be improved. | ||
| And perhaps in the discussions with Vice President Vance today, that's something that will come up. | ||
| Now, I want you to take a listen to these comments yesterday from the Greenland Prime Minister Nielsen, who basically rejected the idea of the U.S. taking control of the island. | ||
| And of course, this is happening ahead of that very critical meeting. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Greenland does not want to be owned by the USA. | |
| Greenland does not want to be governed by the USA. | ||
| Greenland will not be part of the USA. | ||
| We choose the Greenland we know today, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. | ||
| Now we are faced with a geopolitical crisis. | ||
| And if we have to choose between the U.S. city and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark. | ||
| We choose NATO. | ||
| We choose the Kingdom of Denmark. | ||
| We choose the EU. | ||
| So those are some pretty strong words there from the Greenland Prime Minister. | ||
| What do you think Greenland's specific role here is in basically saying that they're rejecting this offer, but they're in a difficult position? | ||
| Well, they certainly are in a difficult position, and the more the Trump administration pushes them, the more, I think, nervous they're going to be about the situation that they are in. | ||
| And they are, the Greenlandic government and Denmark, I think, are unified in this notion that they don't wish to sell Greenland. | ||
| They don't want to give it up, and they don't want to give up sovereignty. | ||
| And so I assume that that is going to be the strong message that they relay in Washington today. | ||
| Now, do you think that the comments from both Denmark and Greenland officials that this would be the end of NATO if the U.S. were to try to take Greenland by force? | ||
| Do you feel that those comments are an overreach or do you think that they're kind of explaining the situation? | ||
| By and large, I think that that describes the situation and that's how it could play out. | ||
| It depends on, I think, the details of how this moves forward. | ||
| But I think that a number of other countries, the Nordic states, France, UK, and others, have said that they would not support the U.S. taking over Greenland. | ||
| And they are worried about the future of NATO. | ||
| It's already under stress because of the situation in Ukraine. | ||
| There are concerns with respect to the way the U.S. has been acting in Venezuela, although that's not directly related to the alliance. | ||
| But these questions about what you can count on in terms of the U.S. and foreign policy as an ally are very much put into play when you have the pressure from the U.S. coming in this direction. | ||
| Now, one question, one more question before we turn to some calls, but the president has said that he hasn't gotten to the point of weighing whether or not to directly pay people in Greenland to try to get them to come over to his side. | ||
| But I want to read you an article from The Hill. | ||
| It says Trump officials weigh direct payments to Greenlanders and take over push. | ||
| And they know, according to a report from Reuters, that government officials, including White House aides, have discussed different figures from $10,000 to $100,000 per person, sources told Reuters. | ||
| I wonder what effect do you think that that would have in Greenland? | ||
| Is this something that Greenlanders are susceptible to, this idea of direct payments from the Trump administration? | ||
| So the major Greenlandic parties have all said that they don't support the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland. | ||
| I don't think that they will be open to this idea of paying direct funds. | ||
| There are a lot of more complicated issues as well, because right now Denmark subsidizes Greenland in various ways in terms of their education and health care and other sort of things. | ||
| So it's not just a question of direct payment. | ||
| It's a question of who will assist with the future of these 57,000 people who live in Greenland in harsh conditions, and they'll need support as well. | ||
| So is the U.S. proposing to, in effect, provide funding for their infrastructure, et cetera. | ||
| So the price could be extremely high, well beyond making payments to individuals. | ||
| Conrad from Virginia, a Democrat, you're next. | ||
| Hi, Conrad, are you there? | ||
| Yeah, I'm here. | ||
| You're on the line. | ||
| Can you do me a favor, though? | ||
| Can you mute your TV before you start? | ||
|
unidentified
|
Yeah, Jerry. | |
| Okay, go ahead. | ||
| Okay. | ||
| Like, we've attacked Venezuela. | ||
| Now they want to go take Greenland. | ||
| It doesn't seem like the United States to me. | ||
| And what could happen if they retaliate and hit the United States? | ||
| Because 9-11, we had 9-11. | ||
| It was just a few people, and they've done a lot of damage. | ||
| So how can we repair for that? | ||
| I wonder if you view that there's any possibility that NATO would respond militarily if the U.S. tried to take Greenland by force. | ||
| I'm not sure that that scenario would play out. | ||
| The U.S. is the leading country in NATO. | ||
| I think it would be more a dissolution of the alliance and a feeling that each country cannot count on each other in the future if there's some sort of emergency, especially if Vladimir Putin decides to take some sort of offensive action in Europe in particular. | ||
| So there would certainly be implications like that. | ||
| I don't think that there's any sense that NATO, other NATO countries could come after the U.S., but I think that the future of the alliance would certainly be in doubt. | ||
| Now, I want to invite more of our listeners to join in on the conversation. | ||
| Democrats, your line is 202-748-8000. | ||
| Republicans, your line is 202-748-8001. | ||
| Independents, your line is 202-748-8002. | ||
| Marilyn from Washington, a Republican. | ||
| You're next. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning. | |
| Good morning. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| I do support our continued membership in NATO. | ||
| I want NATO to be strong. | ||
| This may sound like we're going away from Greenland, but my question is, Turkey is a member of NATO, but Turkey has aligned itself with Russia. | ||
| Is there a method for NATO nations to together say, you need to leave if you decide to ally yourself with our neighbor, with our enemies? | ||
| So is there a way to say, Turkey, you should leave? | ||
| Because you want to be in league with Russia. | ||
| I do want NATO to survive, and I do not want the United States to control Greenland. | ||
|
U.S.-Denmark Military Presence
00:04:19
|
||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Thanks. | ||
| So with respect, I'm not an expert on Turkey, but I would say that the situation with the Turks is somewhat complex. | ||
| They are closer to the Russians in some respects than some other NATO members, but there is the ability to cooperate with Turkey at this point. | ||
| And so I see some differences from the Greenlandic situation, where the U.S. is still cooperating with Turkey at this point. | ||
| And the question is, can it find some way of getting back on track with Denmark? | ||
| And I think that's what we're going to see today with the meetings that they're having here in Washington. | ||
| Richard from Augusta, Georgia, a Democrat, you're next. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
|
unidentified
|
As a veteran, I see this whole interest of Greenland is just outrageously crazy. | |
| And don't you think that if we just increase the military presence there, that and also let the corporations do their thing as far as investment in Greenland, that everything could be neutralized or settled instead of trying to take it like a dictator that Trump is designed to be all over the world. | ||
| And he's stretching us thin, just like Hitler stretched the Germans thin. | ||
| And that's why we'll lose out in the end because this man has, the President Trump has no idea of what he's doing. | ||
| And he's going on probably, he says, his mental telepathy, which we know is all crazy. | ||
| I mean, when is it going to stop? | ||
| And when is the Congress going to stand up and hold this man accountable and tell him he cannot do it? | ||
| I wonder if you have a response there, particularly on Congress's role. | ||
| Well, I think we've seen that a number of members of Congress, including Republicans, particularly ones who have spent years focusing on trying to shore up our relationships in the NATO alliance, are expressing some concern about the current situation. | ||
| But it's very clear from the side of Denmark and Greenland that they are willing to accept greater military presence by the U.S. | ||
| And they're also quite interested in investment from the U.S. | ||
| And so the limit on that investment is not from their side, it's more a question of whether American countries and others are interested in bringing the funding in to deal with the lack of infrastructure and the future mining, | ||
| which after all would take 10, 15, 20 years to realize in any event. | ||
| So it's a long-term proposition, but they're saying that they're open to that and not open to Chinese or Russian influence in that regard. | ||
| So their preference is to work with U.S. investors. | ||
| Since we're talking about investments, I want to bring up some Greenland facts on the screen here. | ||
| It is the world's largest island located in the Arctic. | ||
|
Congresswoman's Impeachment Case
00:04:26
|
||
| It's about three times the size of Texas. | ||
| It's self-governing territory as we've covered here of Denmark. | ||
| Population about 56 to 57,000, mostly indigenous Inuit people. | ||
| 80% of its territory is covered by ice. | ||
| The economy is mainly based on fishing and large subsidies from, and it receives large subsidies from the Danish government, and it accounts for about a fifth of its income or its GDP. | ||
|
unidentified
|
That, of course, is from where Democratic Congresswoman Robin Kelly is talking about her articles of impeachment. | |
| This morning, I introduced articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Christy Noam. | ||
| I am proud to have the support of almost 70 members of Congress already from all across the country. | ||
| Secretary Noam has brought her reign of terror to the Chicagoland area, LA, New Orleans, Charlotte, Durham, and communities north to south to east to west. | ||
| You'll hear from some of those communities, Minnesota and Portland. | ||
| She needs to be held accountable for her actions. | ||
| This is why I introduced three articles of impeachment against Secretary Noam. | ||
| Number one, obstruction of Congress. | ||
| Secretary Noam has denied me and other members of Congress oversight of ICE detention facilities. | ||
| I was denied access to the ICE facility in Broadview despite following Secretary Noam's unlawful seven-day notice requirement. | ||
| There's inhumane conditions due process. | ||
| She claims she's taken murder and charged or convicted of murder or rape. | ||
| Federal agents repelled from Blackhawk helicopters and burst through an apartment in the South Shore of Chicago. | ||
| That was in my district. | ||
| They dragged people, U.S. citizens and immigrants alike, out of bed in the middle of the night. | ||
| New firm run by a friend. | ||
| Her propaganda campaign to recruit ICE agents cost taxpayers $200 million. | ||
| She made a video that turned the South Shore raid into something that looked like a movie trailer. | ||
| But make no mistake, this is not a movie. | ||
| This is real life, and real people are being hurt and killed. | ||
| Renee Nicole Good is dead because Secretary Noam allowed her DHS agents to run amok. | ||
| Families are forever torn apart. | ||
| This is not about personalities or trivial disagreements. | ||
| Secretary Noam has called my impeachment efforts silly. | ||
| I want to tell her right now, Secretary Noam, you have violated your oath of office and there will be consequences. | ||
| I am watching you. | ||
| Members of Congress are watching you. | ||
| The American people, most importantly, are watching you. | ||
| And most of all, we are not liking what we're seeing. | ||
| If you believe impeachment is silly, then you are not taking your job or our Constitution seriously. | ||
| Now it's my honor to introduce Congressman Adriano Espayat from New York's 13th District and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Thank you. | ||
| Thank you, Congresswoman Robin Kelly. | ||
| I am proud to join you in introducing these articles of impeachment against Secretary Noam, who have clearly violated the law and the trust of the American people. | ||
| 32 people died under DHS custody in 2025. | ||
| And already, four people have died in 2026, along widespread reports of sexual abuse, medical neglect, and inhumane conditions. | ||
| All of this enabled by a broken system. | ||
| But most importantly, our eyes do not defy us. | ||
| Our eyes did not lie to us. | ||
| We see, as the rest of the world has seen, have women being violently pulled out of their cars and assaulted in front of the American people and in front of the eyes of the world. | ||
|
Dictatorship's Murders
00:04:49
|
||
| How a woman was shot in the face as America watched on TV and as the rest of the world watched of this heinous murder. | ||
| We've seen how not only immigrants, but green car holders, TPS recipients, farm workers, and even American citizens are being stopped illegally, cuffed, detained, and in some cases arrested and deported. | ||
| I went to Monterey, Mexico, where I met with four children, U.S.-born children, American citizens that were sent to Mexico with their parents, including a young girl with a chronic cancer condition in her brain that needed immediate medical attention in a hospital in Houston, Texas. | ||
| So this is a human rights violation, a blatant human rights violation. | ||
| This is only seen in aggressive dictatorships across the world. | ||
| And so that's what we have. | ||
| This is the Trump dictatorship. | ||
| Do you think that a dictatorship knocks on your door and gives you a dozen roses when you open it? | ||
| A dictatorship takes away your rights, your fundamental rights. | ||
| It creeps up behind you and it assaults you. | ||
| Eventually, it knocks on your door and shoots you. | ||
| This is what's happening in America today. | ||
| And so that's why it is important to hold the Secretary accountable. | ||
| This is enshrined in our laws and our Constitution. | ||
| We must exercise our oversight powers. | ||
| Congresswoman Velasquez and I went to 26 Federal Plaza where we were denied entry to an ICE building. | ||
| Subsequently, we went to court and we had a favorable decision by that court to allow us to exercise our oversight powers. | ||
| And just recently, Secretary Noam again placed another seven-day notice so they can prepare themselves and hide the truth before we get there. | ||
| When we got there, they were mopping the floors. | ||
| They were cleaning up. | ||
| They didn't want us to see the dirty conditions. | ||
| 30 men in a room with two toilets, one of them broken, a woman right across in another cell that could see each other. | ||
| No confidentiality at all. | ||
| This is inhumane and warrants an impeachment proceeding. | ||
| Esto es in humano. | ||
| Y si merece un proceso de institución, por eso todio la congresista Kelly, para unino a este proceso que no lo guarantísa la constitución de los estados unido gracias. | ||
| Oh, I'm sorry. | ||
| And now allow me, please, to introduce Congresswoman Maxine Dexter from Oregon's 3rd District. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Thank you. | |
| Thank you so much for joining us today. | ||
| And thank you to Representative Robin Kelly for meeting this moment with action and moral clarity. | ||
| I am Congresswoman Maxine Dexter. | ||
| I'm a mother, a physician, and the honored representative for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. | ||
| Last week, ICE murdered Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. | ||
| The very next day, federal agents shot two people in East Portland in my district. | ||
| These are not isolated events. | ||
| This is part of a pattern of abuse by brazen, militarized federal agents who act without fear of being held accountable to the law. | ||
| People are being disappeared. | ||
| People are being assaulted. | ||
| And now people are being murdered. | ||
| And when our children and grandchildren ask what we did, when our neighbors were being targeted, I cannot sleep unless I can say every single thing we could. | ||
| Introduce articles of impeachment to remove Christy Noam from office. | ||
| We've all seen her crimes play out right before our very eyes. | ||
| She's willfully obstructed congressional oversight, denying members, as you have heard, of Congress to facilities they have a legal right to conduct oversight at. | ||