Trump, Denmark broker Greenland Security deal at UN General Assembly

Update, 10:38 p.m.:

President Donald Trump formally signed a security agreement with Denmark and Greenland on Tuesday, allowing the United States to expand its North Atlantic military presence, according to the White House. The deal allowed the U.S. military to establish two new military bases in southern Greenland, while also expanding its existing Pituffik Space Base in the North Pole.

The agreement mandated that all commercial contracts for goods and services related to the bases’ construction should be awarded to Greenlandic sources to the maximum extent possible, according to the White House. Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen released a Tuesday statement characterizing the deal as an important step for strengthening security in the Arctic and North Atlantic. It’s been a bumpy road, but everyone is satisfied with the deal, he added.

Why is Denmark involved? Greenland originally functioned as a Danish colony until the mid-20th century. The island nation now holds independent authority over domestic affairs but still submits to Danish rule on larger issues of foreign affairs and international defense.

President Donald Trump holds up the document after signing a security agreement with Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen during the United Nations General Assembly. Associated Press / Image by Julia Demaree Nikhinson

Update, 12:40 p.m.:

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday suggested that Iranian leaders might enter further discussions on ending the war after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3. Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, Trump said he believed Iran was waiting to see how Republicans performed in U.S. midterm elections. However, those election results wouldn’t change Trump’s approach to negotiations, he said. The president said he had a big decision to make—whether to make a deal and help Iran rebuild, or to annihilate it quickly. He encouraged other countries to join in squeezing Iran’s economy.

Trump also spoke of a deal with Denmark giving the United States control over security decisions in Greenland. He signed the deal on the sidelines of the General Assembly shortly after his remarks. Trump said the deal prevented any adversary from establishing a military presence in Greenland or from making certain investments there without U.S. approval. He also said the United States planned to build two large military bases there.

The president also highlighted examples of U.S. military power and security operations abroad. He spoke of America’s January arrest of then-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, saying the operation led to the freedom of hundreds of political prisoners held by Maduro’s administration. The United States would seek a similar regime change in Cuba, he said.

Trump also touted a recent oil deal between the United States and a large private Venezuelan oil producer, which took place with special concessions from Venezuela’s interim leaders. The deal would greatly benefit both Venezuela and the United States and help drive global energy prices down, he said.

Trump also spent time discussing domestic economic and crime statistics, saying unemployment, poverty, and violent crime were dropping. The U.S. murder rate plunged over the past year to its lowest level in well over a century, he said. He took credit for the drop, saying that his decisions to deploy the National Guard and federal immigration agents to major U.S. cities were a major contributor to the improvement.

The president’s speech came the day after 20 world leaders signed a statement calling for UN members to consider creating an international institution to regulate artificial intelligence. Did he discuss such calls for increased AI regulation? The president said the United States would closely monitor AI, which he referred to as superintelligence. However, he said his administration would only encourage its development, not rein it in. America led the world in superintelligence and would continue to do so safely, he said. Concerns about AI were ideologically driven by a globalist scheme, he said, adding that they were blown out of proportion. The UN had great potential if it stopped trying to impose the far-left agenda of globalist bureaucrats, he said.

Editor’s note: Those having trouble with the above video display can access the UN’s live video stream here.

Original post, 9:50 a.m.:

WATCH LIVE: Trump addresses UN General Assembly

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York City around 10 a.m. local time. The speech comes amid a lull in the U.S.-Iran war, and as Trump has announced a tentative deal with Denmark for the security of Greenland. 

Trump is the second world leader scheduled to speak Tuesday after Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. UN Secretary-General António Guterres of Portugal opened the global debate at 9 a.m.

In a similar speech last year, Trump downplayed the international assembly’s effectiveness and highlighted the United States’ own efforts at peacemaking.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday Associated Press / Photo by Yuki Iwamura