Name: Why people in Denmark are fed up with Trump | Focus on Europe
Uploaded: 2026-02-21T23:05:43.000Z
Duration: 6 min 49 s
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Under President Trump, the United States of America will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration, driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and

Sentences with advanced comparative

And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe.

Rubio repeatedly highlighted the transatlantic bond, a message that came as a relief to many European leaders.

But it doesn't quite match the rhetoric from his president, Donald Trump, whose recent remarks on Europe have been causing friction.

In Denmark, for example, high ranking officials like retired General Christian Wid feel betrayed by Trump's dismissal of Danish involvement in NATO's Afghanistan mission.

US President Donald Trump has alienated allies in many ways, but

his attacks on Denmark have been particularly harsh.

Threatening to invade Greenland and saying NATO countries, including Denmark, didn't step up in Afghanistan have tested the patience of one of Washington's longtime partners.

Denmark, a country of just over 6 million people in northwestern Europe, was one of a dozen countries which created NATO in 1949.

danish Air Force General Christian Witt spent his entire military career shoulder to shoulder with American counterparts.

And as Denmark's then chief of defense, he personally sent Danish troops to back up the US when it went to war in Afghanistan three months after 9 11.

So when Trump criticized NATO countries as staying off the front lines in that war, General Wiet was outraged.

That's a stab in the back simply because that's a lie.

I was with our prime minister at Air Station Aalborg saying farewell to our special operations troops from the army and our seals from the Navy.

44 of them never came back, the highest number per capita of any country other than the U.S.

in reaction to Trump's comments, citizens placed 44 flags, each bearing the name of a fallen service member, in front of the US Embassy in Copenhagen, but

That was too much for the retired general.

Hvit, along with many other former service members, decided to take to the streets of Copenhagen in late January.

I have never been in a demonstration before in my life.

I have never been to an event like this, but it just felt so natural.

And of course, with the incident of the insult, you could say removing flags in front of the American Embassy, it was not only now support from a narrow group of veterans, it was support from all of Denmark.

He was joined by an estimated 10,000 other people a huge turnout by Danish standards.

That day, the marchers replaced the memorial flags.

There has already been a lot of soul searching among Danish veterans after the collapse of the Afghanistan mission.

Lots of veterans being really frustrated about the whole thing that they went there.

Some of their comrades were killed, some of them are maimed, aimed for life, and

they had this feeling that it was all for nothing, so.

And then Trump, on top of that, basically says that Denmark didn't do a thing.

But it's not just those who have served who are affected by tension in the U.

It's also those who will take their places.

Partially in response to Trump's repeated threats to take Greenland by force if necessary, coupled with an official assessment that the US could no longer be counted on if Russia attacked, Denmark has almost tripled the length of mandatory military service from four to 11 months, a move expected to add thousands of better trained soldiers to its ranks within a few years.

The first class of new conscripts, all of whom joined voluntarily, just started training.

19 year old Leora Olson is among those who chose to serve.

Do you like the idea of staying 11 months instead of four?

Yes, I think it gives more opportunity to learn more and to have more experience.

Regiment Commander Cor Jacobsen acknowledges Trump will be a factor in training the new troops.

The new youth that we are actually getting in, they are on social media, they are on the media all the time, so they actually know what's going around in the world.

So we cannot just ignore it and say now it's 11 months of conscription and nothing is going on in Europe.

So we actually have to address that issue and tell them what's actually going on and what are we going to use them for in that house as a frame as well.

23 year old Sebastian Hedegaard says he's excited about his future, but also realistic about its risks.

What do you think will be the scariest thing that you'll face?

Well, it's obviously going to war is a big part, but maybe it won't happen.

Do you think it's closer than it was a year ago?

Maybe scary because of the Americans or the Russians in the entire world, just in the state within.

Military analyst Peter Viggo Jakobsen believes this will be the case for the foreseeable future.

If we can't trust the Americans and the Russians are actually winning, then we are in a completely new world.

And that has been the official messaging from the government since February last year.

And that's the environment that these youngsters are coming into.

But General Wietz says he's not giving up on the relationship yet.

Yes, we got stabbed in the back, but we have so many friends in the U.S.

my hope, of course, is that one man cannot, or two or three cannot disrupt this forever.

We will get together one day very closely.

That's my hope, and I'm sure that will happen.