Danish Veterans Protest Trump’s NATO 'Stayed Back' Remarks and Greenland Push Outside U.S. Embassy
Hundreds of protesters — many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan — gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen to denounce President Trump’s “stayed a little back” NATO remark and his push for Greenland, laying 52 Danish flags bearing the names of fallen soldiers. Danish Veterans Association president Carsten Rasmussen and Lt. Col. Niels Christian Koefoed said they felt betrayed and angry; British PM Keir Starmer called the comments “insulting and frankly appalling,” Trump praised only U.K. troops on Truth Social, and U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker stressed Greenland’s strategic importance while saying NATO can “overreact” to Trump’s moves.
📌 Key Facts
- Hundreds protested outside the U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen, many of them veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and laid 52 Danish flags bearing the names of fallen soldiers.
- The demonstration targeted former President Donald Trump's NATO comment that some allies 'stayed a little back,' a remark Danish veterans said provoked feelings of betrayal and anger.
- Danish Veterans Association president Carsten Rasmussen and Lt. Col. Niels Christian Koefoed publicly voiced that veterans felt betrayed and angry over Trump's 'stayed a little back' remark.
- British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump's comments 'insulting and frankly appalling.'
- Trump replied on Truth Social, praising only U.K. troops in his response and not mentioning other NATO allies.
- U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker emphasized Greenland's strategic importance and said NATO tends to 'overreact' to Trump's moves regarding Greenland.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
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January 31, 2026
11:15 PM
Hundreds protest Trump's NATO comments and Greenland demands at US embassy in Copenhagen
New information:
- Article specifies that the protest drew 'hundreds' of participants, many of them veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and that they laid 52 Danish flags with fallen soldiers’ names outside the U.S. Embassy.
- It quotes Danish Veterans Association president Carsten Rasmussen and Lt. Col. Niels Christian Koefoed describing a sense of betrayal and anger at Trump’s 'stayed a little back' remark.
- It adds that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly called Trump’s comments 'insulting and frankly appalling,' and that Trump responded on Truth Social praising only U.K. troops without mentioning other NATO allies.
- The piece restates U.S. ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker’s framing of Greenland’s strategic importance and his claim that NATO tends to 'overreact' to Trump’s Greenland moves.