The White House is advising Denmark to calm down over concerns about reports that the U.S. is trying to exert influence in Greenland. CBS News' Ed O'Keefe reports.

Washington

The White House has advised Denmark to 'calm down' in response to reports of covert U.S. influence operations in Greenland. These reports, originating from Denmark's national public broadcaster, allege that individuals connected to President Trump have attempted to foment dissent in the semi-autonomous Danish territory. Denmark's foreign minister summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country to discuss the matter, but the White House neither confirmed nor denied the allegations, instead suggesting that Denmark was overreacting.

The situation comes amid ongoing U.S. strategic interest in Greenland, particularly concerning military presence and Arctic access, as well as broader geopolitical concerns involving Russia and China. The White House's response has not addressed the specifics of the allegations, and diplomatic tensions remain as both sides navigate the fallout from the reports.

White House responds to Denmark concerns over Greenland influence

The White House is telling Denmark to, quote, calm down over reports of covert influence operations in Greenland. Yesterday, Denmark's foreign minister summoned the top U.S. diplomat in the country after the national public broadcaster alleged people with connections to President Trump were trying to foment dissent in Greenland. The semi-autonomous Danish territory has long been coveted by Trump. CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O'Keefe is tracking this and more for us and joins us from the White House. Good morning, Ed. So what do we know about these specific allegations that are being raised? That's about all we know, Errol, what you just said there, that there are allegations made up there and in the Danish press that there are U.S. citizens trying to influence those in Greenland in some way, that the foreign minister summoned U.S. diplomats in Copenhagen to talk about this. And as you saw there, the White House said late last night the Danes need to calm down. So they didn't deny it, they didn't confirm it, and they in essence stoked it by suggesting that the Danes are overreacting. And so it comes, of course, as the president has expressed interest and concern about who runs Greenland and access to it. And as the U.S. has tried to bolster its presence there amid concerns that the Russians and the Chinese and others might be trying to use Arctic Sea waterways to get through there, there's a real strategic concern about maintaining a U.S. military presence with Russia moving about up there. And then, of course, the president has suggested that the U.S. could buy Greenland or somehow take it over otherwise. Doesn't wanna let it go, it seems. And then domestically, Ed, earlier this week we were speaking about the president trying to oust a chair of the Federal Reserve Board. Now we're speaking about the CDC director, Susan Moner, refusing to step down after she was apparently ousted by the president. What's happening now? Right, so there was a bit of a kerfuffle last night, at least, war of words between her leadership at the Department of Health and Human Services, led, of course, by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and then here at the White House about whether or not she had been pushed out. She then said, I haven't been. The White House then said, well, because you've refused to go you've been fired. Her attorneys turned around and said, well, the president didn't fire her, so we're not going anywhere. In essence, she got a message from somebody else here at the White House, and that doesn't count. So the attorneys that she's hired, a guy named Abby Lowell and then Mark Zaid, are two longtime, mostly Democratic, lawyers who've worked with a lot of different people who end up in trouble. Hunter Biden, at one time he worked for Jared Kushner, Abby Lowell did. He's representing this woman now, and they're essentially trying to build case material against the president and the way he's going about firing these agency heads. And it's telling that all of these agency heads, or ousted agency heads, keep coming to the same set of attorneys who are clearly trying to build a legal fact pattern to establish in court that the president's not running things the way he should, nor potentially removing people the way they're supposed to be, if he's even allowed to do so at all. Remember, the CDC director, for the first time this year, faced a Senate confirmation. It used to be that that position could just be appointed by the HHS secretary and the president, and they just went about serving at the pleasure of those two people. In the wake of the pandemic, it became a Senate-confirmed appointment, which means they can be fired by the president. But again, her attorneys are arguing it wasn't done properly last night, if that's really what the White House wants. Another remarkable turn of events. Edo Keefe with the latest. Thanks so much. Take care.

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