- - GOP congressman splits with Trump over Greenland 'buffoonery'

Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAYJanuary 15, 2026 at 11:44 PM

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A Republican member of Congress is going on the record criticizing President Donald Trump about his threats to seize Greenland from Denmark, in the latest sign of the move's unpopularity.

Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican representing Nebraska, told the Omaha World-Herald on Jan. 14 that Trump's approach to Greenland is "utter buffoonery."

He also told the paper a U.S. invasion of the Arctic island is a "disastrous idea" that could lead to Trump's impeachment.

"There's so many Republicans mad about this," Bacon told the newspaper. "If he went through with the threats, I think it would be the end of his presidency."

When asked if he would support a hypothetical impeachment of Trump over Greenland, Bacon refused to give a yes or no answer but said, "I would lean that way."

Despite strong international pushback and the lack of appetite for an invasion among several members of his own party, Trump has grown increasingly vocal about the idea over the past several months. He has moved from musing about buying Greenland to issuing threats, recently saying in a social media post on Jan. 14 that Greenland should be "in the hands of the United States" and that "anything less than that is unacceptable."

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One a few days prior, Trump brushed off questions over how a possible seizure of the self-governed Arctic island could affect NATO, and doubled down on claims that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security. The Republican leader first floated the idea of a U.S. takeover of Greenland in 2019, including proposing the idea of buying the island, during his first term.

Officials in Denmark and Greenland have made it clear the resource-rich country is not for sale, and Greenland's government coalition said that it "cannot accept" a U.S. takeover "in any way."

"Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States," Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said at a news conference in Copenhagen on Jan. 13.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) faces reporters as he arrives for a House Republican conference meeting to choose a nominee in the race for House Speaker at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, Oct. 24, 2023.

Bacon's recent comments to the Nebraska paper are not the first time he has slammed the president for his foreign policy position on Greenland, nor is he the only GOP member to express criticism of Trump's approach.

Bacon said in a Jan. 6 interview on CNN that he hoped other Republican members would stand up to "universally oppose" the president's threats to take over the territory.

"This is appalling," he said. "Greenland is a NATO ally. We have a base on Greenland."

Bacon also called Denmark a "proven ally," and said the administration's position is demeaning toward that nation and is creating distrust between the U.S. and its allies.

Bacon, who joined Congress in 2017, is not seeking reelection in November. He joined Democrats this week in introducing a bill that would effectively block Trump from invading the territory by prohibiting the use of federal funds to invade a NATO member state or NATO-protected territory.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican stalwart from Iowa, said on Jan. 14 that the president should be able to meet his goals for increased national security through diplomacy rather than "buying it or by invading it." And Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, the former longtime Senate majority leader, recently called the potential seizure of Greenland an "especially catastrophic act of strategic self-harm to America and its global influence."

According to a series of polls released in the last few days, most Americans also oppose the prospect of the U.S. forcefully taking the island.

Just one in five Americans support Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland, according to a Jan. 14 Reuters poll, and a CNN poll released the following day found three-quarters of Americans said they opposed the U.S. attempting to take control of the Arctic island.

Contributing: Brianne Pfannenstiel, USA TODAY Network.

Kathryn Palmer is a politics reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and on X @KathrynPlmr. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Don Bacon says Trump's Greenland push could lead to impeachment

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