00:00Under President Trump, the United States of America will once again take on the task of
00:05renewal and restoration, driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign, and as vital
00:11as our civilization's past. And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone,
00:19it is our preference and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe.
00:28Rubio repeatedly highlighted the transatlantic bond, a message that came as a relief to many
00:34European leaders, but it doesn't quite match the rhetoric from his president, Donald Trump,
00:39whose recent remarks on Europe have been causing friction. In Denmark, for example,
00:44high-ranking officials, like retired General Christian Wied, feel betrayed by Trump's
00:50dismissal of Danish involvement in NATO's Afghanistan mission.
00:55U.S. President Donald Trump has alienated allies in many ways, but his attacks on Denmark have been
01:02particularly harsh. Threatening to invade Greenland and saying NATO countries, including Denmark,
01:08didn't step up in Afghanistan, have tested the patience of one of Washington's longtime partners.
01:14That's a stab in the back.
01:16Denmark, a country of just over 6 million people in northwestern Europe,
01:19was one of a dozen countries which created NATO in 1949 in Washington, D.C.
01:25Danish Air Force General Christian Wied spent his entire military career shoulder-to-shoulder
01:30with American counterparts. And as Denmark's then chief of defense, he personally sent Danish
01:36troops to back up the U.S. when it went to war in Afghanistan, three months after 9-11.
01:42So when Trump criticized NATO countries as staying off the front lines in that war,
01:47General Wied was outraged.
01:49That's a stab in the back, simply because that's a lie. We were there from day one.
01:57I was with our prime minister at air station Aalborg saying farewell to our special operations
02:04troops from the Army and our SEALs from the Navy. We were there.
02:1344 of them never came back, the highest number per capita of any country other than the U.S.
02:20In reaction to Trump's comments, citizens placed 44 flags, each bearing the name of a fallen
02:26service member, in front of the U.S. embassy in Copenhagen, but the embassy removed them.
02:32That was too much for the retired general. Wied, along with many other former service members,
02:37decided to take to the streets of Copenhagen in late January.
02:41I have never been in a demonstration before in my life. I'm 83 years old. I have never been to
02:49an
02:50event like this, but it just felt so natural. And of course, with the incident of the insult,
02:59you could say, removing flags in front of the American embassy, it was not only now support
03:06from a narrow group of veterans, it was support from all of Denmark.
03:13He was joined by an estimated 10,000 other people, a huge turnout by Danish standards.
03:19That day, the marchers replaced the memorial flags, but goodwill isn't so easily restored.
03:25There has already been a lot of soul-searching among Danish veterans after the collapse of the
03:32Afghanistan mission. Lots of veterans being really frustrated about the whole thing,
03:39that they went there, some of their comrades were killed, some of them are maimed for life,
03:44and they had this feeling that it was all for nothing. And then Trump, on top of that,
03:51basically says that Denmark didn't do a thing.
03:53But it's not just those who have served who are affected by tension in the U.S.-Danish relationship,
03:58it's also those who will take their places.
04:01Partially in response to Trump's repeated threats to take Greenland by force if necessary,
04:06coupled with an official assessment that the U.S. could no longer be counted on if Russia attacked,
04:12Denmark has almost tripled the length of mandatory military service, from four to 11 months,
04:18a move expected to add thousands of better-trained soldiers to its ranks within a few years.
04:23The first class of new conscripts, all of whom joined voluntarily, just started training.
04:2919-year-old Leora Olsen is among those who chose to serve.
04:34I'm happy to be here.
04:36And do you like the idea of staying 11 months instead of four?
04:39Yes, I think it gives more opportunity to learn more and to have more experience.
04:45Regiment commander Cor Jakobsen acknowledges Trump will be a factor in training the new troops.
04:52The new youth that we're actually getting, they are on social media,
04:57they are on the media all the time, so they actually know what's going around in the world.
05:00So we cannot just ignore it and say, now it's 11 months of conscription and nothing is going on in
05:07Europe.
05:07So we actually have to address that issue and tell them what's actually going on
05:12and what are we going to use them for in that, how should I say, frame as well.
05:1723-year-old Sebastian Hedegaard says he's excited about his future, but also realistic about its risks.
05:24What do you think will be the scariest thing that you'll face?
05:27Well, it's obviously going to war is a big part, but maybe it won't happen.
05:34Maybe it will. We'll take it one day at a time.
05:39Do you think it's closer than it was a year ago?
05:42Yes. A little bit, maybe.
05:46That's scary. Because of the Americans or the Russians?
05:50In the entire world, just in the state we're in.
05:53Military analyst Peter Viggo Jakobsen believes this will be the case for the foreseeable future.
05:59If we can't trust the Americans and the Russians are actually winning, then we are in a completely new world.
06:04And that has been the official messaging from the government since February of last year.
06:09And that's the environment that these youngsters are coming into.
06:13But General Wietz says he's not giving up on the relationship yet.
06:17Yes, we got stabbed in the back, but we have so many friends in the US.
06:22My hope, of course, is that one man cannot, or two or three, cannot disrupt this forever.
06:33So that's my hope.
06:35We will get together one day very closely.
06:40That's my hope, and I'm sure that will happen.
06:43That's my hope, and I'll see you next time.
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