One European diplomat told Axios that Denmark was widely seen as America’s closest ally in the European Union, and that no one could have imagined it’d be the first Trump would pick a

Denmark reportedly issued the Trump team a private message about handling U.S. security concerns in Greenland after the president-elect threatened to use force.

Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, has described U.S. control of Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory, as an "absolute necessity". Axios said that the Danish government wanted to convince Trump that his security concerns could be addressed without claiming Greenland.