As news began breaking very early Monday of President Trump’s scathing letter to Norway over the country’s failure to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, some pundits and journalists immediately questioned whether it is real.
But confirmation came soon after. In the letter addressed to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Trump explained that he no longer feels obligated to focus exclusively on peace, while repeating his intent for US control over Greenland. In essence he lays out that no Nobel might turn into no Greenland for Europe (as Denmark exercises control over the resource-rich autonomous territory).
“Dear Jonas: Since your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be dominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States,” the US President wrote.
Such is an example of kind of over the top and trolling-style rhetoric in the letter which has given people pause, questioning its authenticity.
“Denmark cannot protect this land from Russia or China… The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland,” he added.
As for whether Trump indeed wrote it, and concerning the bombastic letter’s authenticity, Forbes has noted that “According to PBS Newshour’s Nick Schifrin, who first reported on the matter, the letter has been forwarded by the National Security Council staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington.”
The President also in the letter takes the opportunity to bash Denmark, saying it cannot protect Greenland from Russia or China, and again questioned its legal rights to Greenland: “There are no written documents; it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”
The message in full, as first reported by a PBS correspondent:
Norway’s PM Store has since explained that letter came in response to a joint message he had earlier sent to Trump together with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, rejecting White House plans to impose higher tariffs on Scandinavian countries. Other leading EU countries have also complained and are pushing back publicly:
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“We pointed out the need to de-escalate the exchange and requested a phone call between President Trump, President Stubb and myself,” Store said, and reiterated Norway’s stance on Greenland is unchanged.
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