Stephen Miller, senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, stated during the 12:16 PM to 2:46 PM UTC window on January 17, 2026, that Denmark cannot defend Greenland due to its small economy and military, asserting that territorial control requires defensive capability under 500 years of legal understanding, according to an X post by Acyn. Miller said, "Denmark is a tiny country with a tiny economy and a tiny military. They cannot defend Greenland… Under every understanding of law that has existed about territorial control for 500 years, to control a territory you have to be able to defend a territory…" During the same period, a French Navy destroyer conducted patrols in the Northern Atlantic for situational assessment in a demanding strategic area, with the French Navy committed to securing shared maritime spaces and European approaches, as posted by FrenchForces on X. These developments follow protests by several thousand demonstrators in Copenhagen and other Danish cities earlier on January 17 against Trump's ambitions to take over Greenland, according to RFI and L_ThinkTank reports from the prior 11:46 AM to 12:16 PM UTC window. NATO-related activities continue in Greenland, including Denmark's 150 troops, France's 15 soldiers, Germany's 13-person reconnaissance team, and contributions from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Belgium, as reported in earlier updates today by InsiderGeo and others. Major General Andersen, commander of the Arctic Group in Greenland, spoke to CNN from Nuuk during the 11:16 AM to 11:46 AM UTC window, per gepardtatze on X, while Italy's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto ruled out troop deployments to Greenland earlier, calling it a 'joke' without framework, according to L_ThinkTank.
