Republican Rep. Don Bacon said he would “lean” toward impeaching President Donald Trump if he were to order a military invasion of Greenland, arguing that seizing the island could potentially end his presidency.
“There’s so many Republicans mad about this,” the Nebraska congressman told the Omaha World-Herald in a recent interview. “If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency. And he needs to know: The off-ramp is realizing Republicans aren’t going to tolerate this and he’s going to have to back off. He hates being told no, but in this case, I think Republicans need to be firm.”
He added, “It’s utter buffoonery to think that we should compel Greenland to be part of the United States.”
Trump has become more vocal in recent weeks about his ambitions to seize control of the world’s largest island, including by force if necessary. During a news conference with oil executives last week, he said he was “going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.”
Trump said American control of Greenland is necessary in a social media post on Wednesday, adding that the U.S. needs the territory for national security purposes and to strengthen NATO.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Bacon stopped short of saying outright that he would back a Greenland-related impeachment of Trump, but he said he would give it serious consideration.
“I don’t want to give you a definite yes or no, but I would lean that way. It would be a total mistake to invade an ally. It would be catastrophic to our allies and everything. It’s just the worst idea ever in my view,” Bacon said.
While Trump has framed the idea largely in terms of purchase or strategic interest, the suggestion was firmly rejected by Danish and Greenlandic officials, and it drew wide criticism from a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers and NATO allies.
Bacon, who represents a competitive swing district and is not seeking re-election, has broken with Trump at other times. Earlier this week, he co-sponsored the No Funds for NATO Invasion Act, which would seek to limit the president’s capacity to invade a NATO ally.
“It’s ridiculous that this has to even be done, but when the president talks about taking Greenland one way or the other way every day this last week or so, and that it’s unacceptable if Greenland refuses to be part of the United States, I felt like I needed to make a statement that Republicans disagree,” Bacon said.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Reps. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y, and Steny Hoyer, D-Md., are heading to Copenhagen on Friday to meet with the Danish and Greenlandic governments and business leaders to “highlight more than 200 years of friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
“I hope this delegation will make it clear that Donald Trump’s dangerous threats against Greenland and Denmark do not reflect the views of the American people or the Congress,” Heyer said in a statement ahead of the visit.
Ebony Davis is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked at CNN as a campaign reporter covering elections and politics.