GOP Sen. Thom Tillis strongly criticized White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller’s recent comments suggesting the US should take control of Greenland, calling the remarks “amateurish” and “absurd,” and urging President Donald Trump to fire people who give that kind of advice.
“I’m sick of stupid,” the retiring North Carolina senator said during a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday. “I want good advice for this president, because I want this president to have a good legacy. And this nonsense on what’s going on with Greenland is a distraction from the good work he’s doing, and the amateurs who said it was a good idea should lose their jobs.”
On Monday, Miller asserted during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead” that the formal position of the Trump administration is that “Greenland should be part of the United States.”
Miller also questioned Denmark’s claim over the Arctic territory. “What is the basis of their territorial claim? What is their basis of having Greenland as a colony of Denmark?” he said.
Tillis, who serves as the top Republican in the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group, said that Miller’s position in the White House does not give him the right to speak for the entire US government.
“He doesn’t speak for the US government,” Tillis said.
“Mr. Miller said that the US government – obviously Greenland should be part of the US. That is absurd,” he said.
Tillis also warned that Miller’s comments distracted from the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela.
“What makes me cranky? Stupid. What makes me cranky is when people don’t do their homework. What makes me cranky is when we tarnish the extraordinary execution of a mission I fully support in Venezuela by turning around and making insane comments about how it is our right to have territory owned by the Kingdom of Denmark,” Tillis declared.
“Folks, amateur hour is over. You don’t speak on behalf of this US senator or the Congress,” he continued.
The North Carolina senator also emphasized the value of the NATO alliance, and Denmark’s role in it. He pointed out Denmark’s “disproportionately high” contribution to the NATO response after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US, noting that they lost 43 soldiers in Afghanistan, out of a national population of 6 million.
“You want to get me back to thanking the president for all the good things he’s doing? Then give him good advice,” said Tillis.
Tillis’ speech comes after he issued a joint statement with the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, criticizing the administration’s approach to Greenland. Tillis and Shaheen are co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate NATO Observer Group.
“When Denmark and Greenland make it clear that Greenland is not for sale, the United States must honor its treaty obligations and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” they said. “Any suggestion that our nation would subject a fellow NATO ally to coercion or external pressure undermines the very principles of self-determination that our Alliance exists to defend.”
