A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
For more on the fallout from this week's meetings in Davos, I'm joined now by Alan Leventhal. He served as the U.S. ambassador to Denmark from 2022 to 2025. Ambassador, so we just heard the details are thin on this new framework. What would you think an effective deal could look like?
ALAN LEVENTHAL: Well, A, first, I have to tell you, I obviously followed this very closely. I've been doing a lot of interviews over the past week. I've been very concerned about the consequences of what would - what could've happened. I had this feeling this morning that I had just been standing and - on top of a cliff, looking over at an abyss. And I didn't know how deep that abyss was. And the idea that we would take military action against a NATO ally, the consequences for NATO, the consequences for the world trade - the EU-U.S. trade relationship is $1.6 trillion a year. It represents more than 5 million jobs in America.
I read up again on Smoot-Hawley and the impact during the Depression, President Hoover signing that tariff bill against the recommendations of a thousand economists that said it would cause a depression. So I felt a great sense of relief this morning that we had pulled back from what would've been severe consequences to the U.S., Europe, the world, NATO, Russia, China, Taiwan. All these things were spinning in my head.
MARTÍNEZ: I wanted to know, though - we just played the president saying that you have to have ownership to defend it. Can't defend it on a lease. Greenland is a territory of Denmark. Denmark's a part of NATO. If indeed another nation that is not part of NATO decided to attack Greenland, why wouldn't the U.S., as part of NATO, defend it? I'm wondering what you make of the president's statement.
LEVENTHAL: I never understood what the difference was between ownership and a lease. You know, I'm - and I grew up in the real estate business. There are many long-term leases which have the rights of ownership, so I never quite understood that. But what I was also struck by this morning is if, in fact - well, we have to wait and see what else comes out.
MARTÍNEZ: Right. Yeah.
LEVENTHAL: So I'm rushing to judge, but we're getting pieces of this. We do know that the president said he's not using force. We do know that he's pulled back from the - his proposed tariffs on the EU. You know, the rest of it is speculation. But my initial reaction is all the things that are being talked about, Denmark was prepared to do from the very beginning. And I've told all my - everybody I've talked to, you know, the Danes view the U.S. as like an older brother. Ninety percent of the Danes who emigrated from Denmark from the 1850s on went to small towns across America.
There's huge Danish community in the U.S. And wherever the U.S. goes to fight, Danes are side by side - Iraq, Afghanistan. They suffer. They have grievous injuries. They have deaths at per capita rates equal or higher to the U.S. So there's a great love of the U.S. And the prime minister, Frederiksen, who I have been so impressed with during my service there, she would - among this - there couldn't have been a stronger voice for the importance of the transatlantic relationship. They've always stood up for the U.S. So it's just so hard to conceive of why we were going through this.
MARTÍNEZ: Going through it, Ambassador, in such a threatening way?
LEVENTHAL: In a way that was so harmful. And potentially, we're, you know, as I talked about, standing at the abyss and looking over. I think the consequences of this were horrific to the relationship to Europe to the U.S., not just to Denmark and Greenland. But, look, I'm relieved. I'm hopeful that we can get this resolved quickly, and if it - whether it means owning, you know, areas of Greenland to put bases on, you know, longer-term leases. Whatever the terms are, I hope this can all be worked out quickly and we can put this all behind us because it's important to move forward.
MARTÍNEZ: So if indeed this gets worked out quickly, the aftermath, the relationship between Washington and Europe at this point, where do you think that stands?
LEVENTHAL: Well, I think it's - you know, we can speculate about that. You know, this has been - I've read the comments from the European leaders this morning. And, you know, the damage has been done. You know, I know Denmark better than I know the other European countries. There's such a strong foundation in the relationship between the people of Denmark and the people of the U.S. I'm confident, you know, once we get through this, we'll move forward in a positive way.
I was very interested that when all this was taking place, you know, we had the events in Venezuela following the appointment of a special envoy, Governor Landry of Louisiana, to Greenland. And there were polls being taken. And 75%, 80% of Americans oppose military action in Greenland. Americans get it. They understand, you know, what Europe means, what Denmark means, the strong relationships. And they understand the difference between that and a brutal, you know, drug-running dictatorship who gets in bed with our adversaries.
And that's the thing that just really stuck with me, that American people understand this is Denmark. This is, you know, this is a NATO ally, a founding member of NATO. You know, Europe is important to the U.S. Our trade relationship is important. NATO's important, gets strong support. So I just feel that cooler heads have prevailed, and we will be in a better place.
MARTÍNEZ: We only have about a minute left, Ambassador. I wanted to ask you this question.
LEVENTHAL: Right.
MARTÍNEZ: I think it's important. If indeed President Trump gets what he wants by at first issuing threats, then what's the world to make of a next time he makes threats over something else that he might want?
LEVENTHAL: I don't want to speculate on that. And I don't think it's even meaningful to speculate on that. I think we just need to get this resolved and move on. But what strikes me is we could've done this so quickly with Denmark and Greenland because Denmark is such a close friend of the U.S. I feel better today. I hope today, at the end of the day or very quickly, we'll know the details of this, and we'll have the ability to move on. The Danes will continue to be great friends to America. This relationship is enduring. We - I know the Danes will get beyond all of this.
MARTÍNEZ: That is Alan Leventhal, former U.S. ambassador to Denmark. Ambassador, thank you.
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