Republican Congressman Slams Stephen Miller’s ‘Really Dumb’ Claim About Seizing Greenland

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) had some pointed words for White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

Miller appeared on Monday’s edition of The Lead on CNN, where he did a victory lap after the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. The pair appeared before a federal judge in New York on Monday and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking charges.

In the wake of the invasion, President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that the U.S. is entitled to Greenland, an autonomous territory that belongs to Denmark, a NATO ally.

“We need it for defense,” Trump said.

Jake Tapper drew Miller’s attention to a post from Katie Miller, the deputy chief of staff’s wife. It showed Greenland on a map covered by a U.S. flag. She wrote, “SOON.”

“Can you rule out that the US is ever going to take Greenland by force?” Tapper asked Stephen Miller.

“Greenland should be part of the United States,” he insisted. “The real question is, by what right does Denmark assert control over Greenland? What is the basis of their territorial claim?”

“So you can’t take it off the table?” Tapper asked. “That the U.S. would use military force to seize Greenland?”

Miller accused Tapper of trying to get a “catchy headline that says, ‘Miller refuses to rule out [military force].'” The Trump adviser insisted, “Nobody’s gonna fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland.”

Hours later, Bacon reposted a clip from the interview.

“This is really dumb,” the Republican posted. “Greenland and Denmark are our allies. There is no up side [sic] to demeaning our friends. But, it is causing wounds that will take time to heal.”

Officials in Greenland and Denmark have both said the territory will not belong to the U.S.

“Denmark recalls the foundational principle of international law that forbids states from threatening or using force against another state’s territorial integrity and political independence,” Danish Ambassador to the UN Christina Markus Lassen said at the U.N. Security Council on Monday.

Article 5 of the NATO charter obliges member nations to come to the defense of any member who is attacked by a foreign entity. The U.S. is a member of NATO