Yesterday Trump would not rule out using military force to occupy Greenland, currently an autonomous province of Denmark.

French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot came to the defence of Denmark’s sovereignty over the massive island.

“There is obviously no question that the European Union would let other nations of the world attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are,” Barrot said.

“We are a strong continent.”

But Barrot expressed his scepticism that Trump would follow through on his threats.

“If you’re asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no,” he said.

“But have we entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he had spoken to several European leaders on the issue.

“The principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it lies to the east of us or the west, and every state must keep to it, regardless of whether it is a small country or a very powerful state,” he said.

“It is a fundamental principle of international law and a key part of what we call Western values.”

Meanwhile, Denmark’s leaders are trying to cool temperatures with the incoming Trump administration.

But Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen spoke of Greenland’s right to self-determination.

“We fully recognise that Greenland has its own ambitions,” he said.

“If they materialise, Greenland will become independent, though hardly with an ambition to become a federal state in the United States.”

Meanwhile, Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum has mockingly responded to Trump’s announcement to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

She replied that North America should revert back to the name “America Mexicana”.

At a news conference, Sheinbaum showed a 1607 map commissioned by the Dutch East India Company which had labelled nearly all of the continent as such.

“Why don’t we call it America Mexicana? It sounds pretty, no? Isn’t that true?” Sheinbaum said.