Newsmax host says he questions Trump's “tactics” toward acquiring Greenland
Rob Schmitt: “Anything that we probably wanted out of Greenland, we could probably get that. That we could probably just get very easily with a little negotiating and not have to be so forceful.”
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From the January 20, 2026, edition of Newsmax's Rob Schmitt Tonight
ROB SCHMITT (HOST): I want to start right where we just left off in Greenland. This. You know, this -- I understand what the president is trying to do. The tactics I question. It seems very forceful. He's given a hell of a lot of ammunition to MSNBC. What do you make of it?
MICHAEL KNOWLES (HOST0: Well, President Trump's policy is the policy of the US State Department since the middle of the 19th century. So this notion that Trump is just barging in and upending America's strategic aims is totally ridiculous. And I think his point was apt when he said, look, Denmark says that to defend Greenland, they're going to add another dog sled. That was real, by the way. That was funny, but it was also real. And he says that's not enough to deter China and Russia. And so we just need to make sure that we secure Greenland. Trump typically speaks past the sale. This is a point that the late, great Scott Adams made frequently. So is he really going to fly in Don Rumsfeld style with F-35s and, you know, drop freedom scenes on Nuuk? Probably not. I don't think we're actually expecting that. But is he going to secure Greenland for the United States and make sure that -- look, Denmark hasn't had a vibrant government really since Hamlet, and so we as the global hegemon need to take some control here. Yes, I think that is going to happen. And I hope the Danes get on board the easy way rather than the hard way.
SCHMITT: And I understand all of that. But I do think there's there's an interesting point to be made from some of the people that are screaming the loudest about this, which is that this is a big, empty, open country. It's massive. There's only 50,000 people that live there. And anything that we probably wanted out of Greenland, we could probably get that. That we could probably just get very easily with a little negotiating and not have to be so forceful. Do you think there's a point to be made there? Is he going too hard on this or does he have a different motive?