Majority of Danes now see US as adversary

Majority of Danes now see US as adversary

US President Donald Trump’s push for Greenland has strained relations with Denmark, a country that calls Washington its closest ally.

In a show of unity, citizens of Denmark protest Donald Trump’s bid for Greenland, demanding sovereignty and international law be upheld. (EPA Images pic)
COPENHAGEN:
About 60% of Danes now consider the US an adversary, with less than a fifth seeing the fellow Nato member as an ally, a poll conducted for public broadcaster DR showed Tuesday.

Denmark has traditionally been an ardent US ally and continues to call Washington its “closest ally”, but tensions have mounted in recent weeks over Trump’s desire to take over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

Asked if they would describe the US “as an ally or an adversary” given the current state of affairs, only 17% said they considered the US an “ally”, according to a new poll, DR reported.

About 20% of respondents answered that they didn’t know, and 3% said they did not wish to answer.

Trump in January backed down from his threats to seize the Arctic territory, which, through Denmark, is a member of Nato.

His threats plunged the transatlantic alliance into its deepest crisis in years.

The poll was conducted by analyst firm Epinion, which surveyed 1,053 Danes over the age of 18 between Jan 21 and 28.

On Jan 17, thousands of Danes joined a protest march from central Copenhagen to the US embassy to protest against Trump’s push to take over Greenland.

On Saturday, thousands again marched on the US embassy in Copenhagen, this time in a silent protest organised by Denmark’s Veterans’ Association after Donald Trump downplayed the role of non-US Nato troops in Afghanistan.

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