President Donald Trump's former chief of staff warned Tuesday that his aggressive push to seize Greenland could cost him support among Americans.
Mick Mulvaney, who served during Trump's first term, suggested in an interview with NewsNation that the president's demand to acquire the Arctic island nation could hurt his messaging for voters around affordability and damage his relationship and reputation among allies — especially Europe, The Independent reported.
Mulvaney suggested that he would caution the president over retaliating against the countries.
“Mr. President, keep in mind, this is our largest creditor,” Mulvaney said. “Europe buys more of our debt than anybody else, and if they stop doing that, interest rates are going to go up. That is not really good for affordability.”
He also questioned what the Trump administration would hope to accomplish — and how they'd plan a potential takeover.
“My follow-up question is, ‘Ok, Scott, are we bombing Canada? I mean, what are we doing here? What are we trying to accomplish?’ If we’re trying to defend the nation, there are ways to do it without alienating our closest allies in the whole world,” Mulvaney said.
He also added that he has respect for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said the U.S. would not plan to "outsource" its national security to other countries.
“The cost here could be much, much larger than I think the administration is considering,” Mulvaney said.
He estimated that the cost could directly impact rising consumer prices and be costly for the U.S. Greenland was valued at an estimated $700 billion, according to NBC News.
Greenland and Denmark have declined Trump's offer to purchase and acquire Greenland. Trump this weekend said he planned to impose a 10 percent tariff on Denmark and other European countries that do not agree on his move to take the country.