00:00A Trump official has reportedly found the solution to one of America's biggest problems.
00:05No endless shrimp at Red Lobster.
00:06So what does acquiring Greenland have to do with bottomless shrimp?
00:10Here's what's happening.
00:11President Trump has been pushing to acquire Greenland since 2018 when intelligence reports
00:15flagged growing Chinese and Russian military activity in the Arctic.
00:19The administration's case?
00:20Access to rare earth minerals, military positioning, and Arctic shipping access.
00:24But a New Yorker investigation this week reveals a stranger pitch inside the push.
00:30Thomas Dans, Trump's appointed chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, has been
00:34accused by Danish authorities of running private influence operations in Greenland.
00:39Earlier this year, he told the New Yorker that seizing the island's seafood could cut
00:42China out of the supply chain and, in his words, bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster.
00:47Now this matters because a sitting U.S. official just pitched annexing a sovereign nation partly
00:52on the strength of a restaurant chain's all-you-can-eat deal.
00:54The administration argues the broader strategic case is real, that Greenland's mineral reserves
00:59and Arctic positioning would help block China and Russia from controlling key shipping routes
01:03as the sea ice melts.
01:05And according to the New Yorker's reporting, the shrimp pitch was more of just a side note.
01:09But critics, including Denmark, NATO allies, and the EU, say any forced acquisition would
01:14breach international law and fracture the alliance.
01:17Secretary of State Marco Rubio, when asked in Congress if Greenland was a part of Denmark,
01:20replied, for now.
01:22Greenland's prime minister called for an end to, quote, fantasies about annexation.
01:27And a January Quinnipiac poll found 86% of Americans opposed to taking it by force.
01:32But here's the kicker, Red Lobster already brought back endless shrimp on its own.
01:36In April, CEO Damola Adam Malakin, who previously swore the promotion was dead because, quote,
01:41I know how to do math, relaunched it at $24.99 a plate.
01:44Two months before this story broke, no annexation needed.
01:48Red Lobster has yet to comment on the administration's plans.
01:51So is the Greenland push a serious national security strategy, or has it all just gotten
01:56lost in the shrimp?
01:57Drop your take in the comments and follow us here for more.
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