So here's where we are: The president of the United States wants to acquire Greenland, and according to Sen. Bernie Sanders, it's basically because someone didn't give him a trophy.
Sanders went on CBS's "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" Tuesday night and didn't hold back. "What it is, it really is, it's like a narcissistic 4-year-old spoiled brat. 'I'm going to yell and scream because I didn't get my extra cup of ice cream,'" the Vermont independent said.
The Nobel Prize Connection
The context makes this even stranger. Trump apparently sent a text to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre that seemed to connect his Greenland ambitions to Norway's failure to award him the Nobel Peace Prize. Sanders had a field day with this.
"In the midst of all the craziness, the idea that you would have the president of the United States say, 'Norway, you didn't give me the Nobel Prize. I have to invade Greenland. … You hurt my feelings.' I mean…," Sanders said, trailing off as Colbert replied, "It's sad. It makes you sad a little bit."
Taking It to Social Media
Not done yet, Sanders posted a clip from the interview on X with his own commentary: "The idea that a US President would threaten to invade Greenland because Norway didn't give him a Nobel Prize is pathetic. This has nothing to do with foreign policy. It's a president acting like a narcissistic spoiled child because his feelings got hurt. Unacceptable."
What Trump Actually Said
Norway released the text over the weekend. Trump wrote that because the country "decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace" and would instead focus on "what is good and proper for the United States of America."
Trump's official position is that this is about national security. He argues Washington needs "Complete and Total Control of Greenland" to counter Russia and China in the Arctic. He's threatened escalating tariffs on Denmark and several European allies starting Feb. 1 unless they agree to sell the island, which has alarmed NATO partners and rattled markets.
Growing Concerns in Washington
Sanders isn't alone in his criticism. Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts went even further earlier this week, urging the use of the 25th Amendment to remove Trump over what he called erratic behavior tied to the Greenland dispute, citing reports on the president's Nobel-linked message.