Mette Frederiksen: Denmark's PM on Trump, Russia and Greenland's Future

Newsweek

a day ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen leads what consistently ranks as one of the world's most peaceful countries. Her office in the neo-baroque Christiansborg Palace overlooks a picturesque capital city as orderly as any in Europe. But at the top of her agenda is preparing for war. From the East there is a growing menace from Russia as it battles Ukraine and prepares for possible attacks elsewhere in Europe, Frederiksen tells Newsweek in an interview in Copenhagen.
At the same time, she must navigate Denmark's relationship with NATO ally the United States, which has been thrust into uncertainty by President Donald Trump's repeated assertions of his desire to take over Greenland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen photographed for Newsweek magazine.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen photographed for Newsweek magazine.
Kasper Løftgaard
The world order established after World War II and the peaceful progress made since the end of the Cold War is in danger, Frederiksen says. That is, she believes, an immense challenge for a Europe that had grown accustomed to peace for 30 years and threatens to sideline other issues such as addressing climate change.
"It's like we convinced ourselves that everybody wants to be like us, or everybody seeks peace and wants peace. But it's not the case. Russia does not want peace. They want war," she says. "I think they are willing to attack again in Ukraine, or another place in Europe."
"I think it was an era. I think we are in the beginning of a new one with more uncertainty, an era that is more insecure and therefore also more dangerous. But I think the answers have to be the same. I mean that democracy has to win, and that all countries have to respect the UN Charter, so the principles have to be the same."
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, Peter Strauss Halsboe Jørgensen, Strategic Advisor and Newsweek's Matthew Tostevin
Danish PM Mette Frederiksen, Peter Strauss Halsboe Jørgensen, Strategic Advisor and Newsweek's Matthew Tostevin
Kasper Løftgaard
Denmark is one of the smaller members of NATO and the European Union, with just under six million people—about the same number as Wisconsin. But it has been a pillar of both alliances, while sometimes taking a more independent line on European issues. Denmark rejected joining the euro and has retained its own currency, the krone, for example.
In European terms, support for Frederiksen, 47, is holding up relatively well after six years in office. She was recently labeled Europe's "least unpopular" leader by polling group YouGov. Frederiksen has a broader support base than many as a Social Democrat whose tough immigration policies have helped neutralize support for the far-right. She is known by many Danes as "Mother," in part for having guided the country through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amager square, Strøget, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Amager square, Strøget, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dag Sundberg/Getty
The Greenland Issue
Just as unexpected as the threat to Europe's peace was the forcefulness of the confrontation with the world's most powerful leader over Greenland. In Trump's first term, the seriousness of his bid for the strategic Arctic island was in question. This time round, Frederiksen is sure he is serious.
"I have tried to de-escalate the situation, because in this world, with a very aggressive Russia, with a closer cooperation between Iran, North Korea and Russia, helped by China, I will do what I can to ensure that nothing goes wrong between allies and good friends and partners. But at the same time, we have to stick to the most important values and principles," she says.
Frederiksen picks her words carefully. There is a steeliness in her blue eyes and just the occasional thoughtful smile as she goes over the existential threats to the world she grew up with—one in which Denmark was ever grateful to the United States for its role in World War II and then challenging Soviet power. Trump has not ruled out using force to acquire Greenland, whose residents ultimately seek full independence from Denmark but oppose a U.S. takeover.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (C), Greenland's acting head of government Múte Bourup Egede (R) and newly elected head of government Jens-Frederik Nielsen (L) are pictured in orange flight suits after a trip with a...
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (C), Greenland's acting head of government Múte Bourup Egede (R) and newly elected head of government Jens-Frederik Nielsen (L) are pictured in orange flight suits after a trip with a Danish Navy Sea Hawk helicopter from the Danish Navy inspection ship Vaedderen in the waters around Nuuk, Greenland, on April 3, 2025. More
MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty
"A situation where an ally attacks another ally would be very, very wrong, and it will challenge not only the relationship to the Kingdom of Denmark, but the trans-Atlantic relationship and that would be, I think, very dangerous for all of us," she says.
To address concerns voiced by Trump that Denmark could not defend Greenland in the face of Russian or Chinese confrontation, Frederiksen says it would be a priority for Denmark to step up its defense role in the Arctic in partnership with other NATO countries as well as to do more on Europe's eastern frontier.
Surfer honing his skills at the Amager Strandpark.
Surfer honing his skills at the Amager Strandpark.
Getty
Europe Has 'Made Mistakes' With Defense
The tariffs imposed by Trump on Europe to try to redress trade imbalances have been another source of friction with the U.S. As a member of the European Union, Denmark does not hold separate trade negotiations with the United States.
"I think a trade war will be a problem, not only for Europe, but for everybody, and therefore everything we're doing is to avoid it," she says. "What I'm trying to say to our American friends and colleagues is that there are so many challenges globally. At the moment, things are moving in the wrong direction."
At this dangerous moment, Europe has no choice but to rearm itself, Frederiksen says. That was not because the United States could not be trusted, but because Europe had been failing to do enough to defend itself—a theme echoed by officials in the Trump administration and elsewhere who say Europe was able to channel funds to its welfare states as Washington paid for its security umbrella.
Large demonstration for the Syrian migrants in Copenhagen closed to Christianborg Palace on November 9, 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Large demonstration for the Syrian migrants in Copenhagen closed to Christianborg Palace on November 9, 2016 in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Frédéric Soltan/Corbis via Getty
"It has been a mistake that after the end of the Cold War that we reduced our military budgets in a big part of Europe. It was a mistake, and maybe one of the most important things right now is to agree that it will never happen again," she says. "We have to be able to defend ourselves, to deter Russia, and I don't think it's fair to ask somebody else to come and defend you if you're not willing to do it yourself."
Relative to its economic might, Denmark has been one of the biggest financial supporters of Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022. Frederiksen says it would be "a disaster" if Russia won the war.
"We are being too naive if we are only focusing on Ukraine," she says. "I've never believed that this war is only about Ukraine. It is about Ukraine and thereby paying the highest price, but it is about Europe, and it is about the imperial dreams in Russia."
Attacks were already happening, Frederiksen says.
"If you look at the situation now, maybe it's on a daily basis or almost a daily basis that you see attacks from Russia: hybrid attacks, cyberattacks, disinformation. They are trying to change democratic elections," she continues.
"I think we have one question we have to ask ourselves in Europe: If we are not willing to stand up for ourselves, to protect ourselves, then who are we?"
Building Stronger Ties
Frederiksen pauses occasionally to choose from the carrot and cucumber sticks placed alongside the coffee and tea on the meeting room table. Denmark is regularly ranked as one of the world's healthiest countries as well as being within the Top 10 of those on the Global Peace Index of the Institute for Economics and Peace. The streets of Copenhagen are abuzz with cyclists, with 36 percent of Danes commuting to work by bicycle at least once a week, compared with 0.6 percent of Americans.
With the questions over the U.S. relationship with Europe under the Trump administration, European countries have also been evaluating their relationships with China, which is now a bigger trade partner for many of them but also has a "strategic partnership" with Russia.
"The answer is building a strong Europe and a strong Europe that is open-minded and able to work, of course, globally, with different partners, including China," she says. "I want us to be able to produce the technologies that we need on our own, all with partners with whom we always share the same interest with... To make a strategic choice now, less U.S., more China will be, I think, not the right way forward."
Green Transition Under Threat
One point that Frederiksen wants to stress in the face of the litany of global problems is the concern that climate change is now being sidelined. Denmark has become a leader in green energy—particularly from the winds that all too often bluster the country pinned between the North Sea and the Baltic. More than half of Denmark's electricity supply comes from wind energy, five times more than in the U.S.
Elsewhere in Europe, the shift to renewables has prompted concerns over higher energy prices from the use of less stable sources of energy as well as the risks of outages to power supplies themselves.
A Danish Leopard 2 main battle tank prepares as a U.S. soldier looks on during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa International Tank Challenge on February 11, 2025 at Grafenwoehr, Germany.
A Danish Leopard 2 main battle tank prepares as a U.S. soldier looks on during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa International Tank Challenge on February 11, 2025 at Grafenwoehr, Germany.
Sean Gallup/Getty/Getty
Trump, meanwhile, has voiced skepticism over climate change and declared a national energy emergency in order to ramp up production of coal, oil and gas, which emit the carbon dioxide many scientists say is causing global temperatures to rise.
"I have this feeling that climate change, the green transition renewables, you know, there's not the focus that just was there a few years ago," Frederiksen says.
"To make Denmark and Europe less dependent on foreign fossil fuels and more competitive, the green transition is the solution—not the problem. Expanding our own clean energy production and investing in energy infrastructure that further connects Europe is a fundamental prerequisite for strengthening our continent. At the same time, it reduces emissions and tackles climate change."