Trump Shifting Greenland to Military Command Tasked with Homeland Defense.

3 weeks ago 1

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: The Trump administration plans to shift Greenland from U.S. European Command to U.S. Northern Command, which is tasked with homeland defense, signaling President Donald J. Trump’s intention to acquire the Danish territory.

👥 Who’s Involved: President Donald J. Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, U.S. military officials, and Greenland’s population.

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💬 Key Quote: “We have to have Greenland,” President Trump stated during Vice President Vance’s visit to the island earlier this year.

⚠️ Impact: The move underscores Greenland’s strategic importance to U.S. national security and ambition to bring it under U.S. control.

IN FULL:

The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to reassign Greenland from the U.S. European Command to the U.S. Northern Command, a move seen as emphasizing both its role in homeland defense and President Donald J. Trump’s ambition to acquire it. The U.S. Northern Command oversees defense operations for the continental United States, Alaska, and neighboring nations such as Canada and Mexico.

U.S. officials say the change reflects a strategic shift in viewing Greenland as critical to American security. Acquiring Greenland, currently under the Kingdom of Denmark, has been a focal point for the Trump administration.

During a March visit to Greenland’s Pituffik Space Base, Vice President J.D. Vance criticized Denmark for inadequate investment in the island’s infrastructure and security. The base, equipped with missile detection systems, is considered vital to U.S. defense interests.

President Donald J. Trump has maintained his interest in acquiring Greenland due to its value for national security and its rare earth mineral resources. During Vance’s March visit, Trump remarked, “We have to have Greenland.” In a speech to Congress, Trump pledged significant development opportunities for Greenland, stating, “We will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”

Greenland lies at the entrance to the Northwest Passage, which passes through the northern islands of Canada. It could become a major strategic searoute if temperatures rise in the northern hemisphere.

Image by NordForsk/Terje Heiestad.

PULSE POINTS:

❓What Happened: Elon Musk publicly criticized President Donald J. Trump’s flagship tax and spending bill, calling it a “disgusting abomination.”

👤Who’s Involved: Elon Musk, President Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator Rand Paul, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Senator Chuck Schumer.

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🧾Key Quote: “Shame on those who voted for it,” Musk wrote on X.

⚠️Fallout: The rebuke could signal an impending rift between Musk, who recently departed the administration, seemingly on good terms, and President Trump.

📌Significance: Musk’s break with the Trump administration is his most direct since leaving government service at the end of May.

IN FULL:

Elon Musk lashed out at President Trump’s landmark tax and spending legislation on Tuesday, calling the bill a “disgusting abomination” and accusing lawmakers of saddling Americans with unsustainable debt.

Musk’s remarks came just days after his departure from the Trump administration, where he had served as the frontman for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative aimed at cutting government waste, with mixed results.

In posts on his X platform, Musk said the bill would raise the deficit to $2.5 trillion and was filled with “outrageous” pork-barrel provisions. “Shame on those who voted for it,” he wrote.

The bill, passed by the House in May, would extend Trump’s first-term tax cuts, cut taxes on tips, overtime, and social security, boost border security and defense spending, and raise the debt ceiling to $4 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated it would increase the deficit by at least $600 billion in the coming fiscal year.

President Trump’s Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, responded to Musk’s criticism by saying the America First leader “already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill.”

Members of the administration, such as Stephen Miller, have explained to Musk that substantial cuts cannot be achieved in the “one big beautiful bill” because it is a reconciliation bill. Under the law, the reconciliation process can only impact discretionary spending. Most federal agency budgets, which Musk’s DOGE cuts impact, are considered nondiscretionary spending, and must be dealt with separately.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he spoke with Musk about the bill for 20 minutes earlier this week and noted that its phasing out of certain tax credits may affect Musk’s Tesla company. “I just deeply regret he’s made this mistake,” Johnson said.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has said he won’t support the measure if it includes raising the debt ceiling. “The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this,” Paul said.

So far, Trump has held fire against Musk, who is also avoiding attacking Trump directly, instead stressing that the bill is “Congressional.” However, Trump has fired back against Rand Paul on social media, arguing he has “very little understanding of the bill” and that “the people of Kentucky can’t stand him.”

Despite the friction, Senate Majority Leader John Thune signaled the GOP would “proceed full speed ahead.” The administration has set a July 4 deadline to pass the legislation.