SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
In another volatile week for transatlantic relations, President Trump continues to proclaim that Greenland will be part of the United States one way or the other, despite the fact that it's part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Leaders in Denmark and Greenland say they want to work with the U.S. but will not negotiate on sovereignty. Danish civilians say they're feeling whiplash, as NPR's Barbara Sprunt reports.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: At the University of Copenhagen, political science student Villads Welling tells me his studies have gone from the theoretical to the eerily practical as President Trump continues to push to acquire Greenland. He remembers that Trump floated the idea during his first term.
VILLADS WELLING: I think most people in Denmark were just laughing, saying, oh, yeah. Well, he's not going to. And he doesn't even know that you cannot buy another country. That's not how it works.
SPRUNT: But Trump is doubling down, maintaining the U.S. needs Greenland for national security despite already having military access. This week, he vowed to impose tariffs on European allies until a deal for the U.S. to obtain Greenland was reached and then changed his mind.
WELLING: We've come to realize that he wants to buy Greenland. But he is also willing to threaten us, and he is also willing to take action.
SPRUNT: His friend, law student William Bruss (ph), puts Trump's quest this way.
WILLIAM BRUSS: That gives some imperialistic flashbacks. In my head, at least.
SPRUNT: He says he grew up learning about the close alliance between the U.S. and Denmark and now sees it turned upside down.
BRUSS: It's our - in some ways, our big brother. It's a nation that we've always looked up to, felt that it was someone we shared values with. So to see someone speak in a way where it at least feels like he's willing to throw away that cooperation - that is shocking.
SPRUNT: Emma Firestone agrees.
EMMA FIRESTONE: There's a sense that we are collectively living through a tragedy.
SPRUNT: She's originally from Boston and is raising a family here in Copenhagen with her Danish husband. She said despite the upheaval, Danes seem to draw a distinction between the U.S. government and Americans abroad.
FIRESTONE: Everyone is capable of recognizing that, you know, they are not Donald Trump. They are not their administration, and they don't represent them.
SPRUNT: Mads Just-Olesen is a Dane who went to high school in Iowa.
MADS JUST-OLESEN: I mean, in Denmark, we're - everyone is very polite and likes to follow the rules and stand in line. And, you know, the idea of international law is something that people just assume that would be respected, and it feels very far-fetched to even talk about friendly countries having these kinds of discussions.
SPRUNT: He says Americans should understand that Danes have viewed the U.S. as a strong ally, but that's shifting.
JUST-OLESEN: Now the conversation in the Danish media and in the workplace and when you talk to people is very much about how, well, it's time for Europe to stand alone. And I think most Danes are ready to say, OK, we don't want to have to rely on the U.S. for anything, really, 'cause it's just too unpredictable. And it's got nothing to do with people, got everything to do with politics.
SPRUNT: This week, European leaders themselves echoed the need to chart an independent course with less reliance on the United States.
Barbara Sprunt, NPR News, Copenhagen.
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