This saber rattling had the desired effect and result. More military investment in Greenland. But, using other ppl's money... Denmark.
And in Canada's case with becoming a 51'st state... they too are now committed to meeting NATO $ obligations.
If you're a country, reserving the right to use military force is a way of setting boundaries.
Think of it like this, your friend Darald never pays for anything and expects you to foot the bill for all group activities, and even pay his rent and deal with his crazy ex-wife (paying his alimony, etc). Darald also talks shit about you every chance he gets, in front of your other pals. You eventually get fed up with enabling his destructive / lazy behavior and stand up for yourself. Do you: a) punch him in the nose; b) use court action to seize his assets to recoup some of your losses; c) go to his house and take the money he owes you out of his mattress, and push him off you when he tries to stop you; d) all of the above; e) do nothing, keep letting yourself get abused.
???
Where does this idea come from that Europe wasn't spending any money on defense?
It has also certainly served US interests to keep certain European countries "down" and have them reliant on the US for their security for other reasons too.
The idea that the US decided to "subsidize" European defense for multiple decades, out of their own generosity is.... nothing short of completely laughable imo.
Keeping it cheaper.
When the Suez was blocked by a sideways ship[0], some of shipping went around Africa[1].
The USA also notably made it clear to the European powers that European powers absolutely didn't have any right to be the powers who controlled the Suez[2].
I also note that the official position of the Houthis is their attacks on shipping are supposed to be about Israel, the problem from the perspective of everyone else in Europe is that they're idiots hitting unrelated ships as well[3].
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Suez_Canal_obstruction#Ec...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Route
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suez_Crisis
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houthi_attacks_on_commercial_v...
Finally, Greenland would fall under NATO protection so who exactly would Denmark need to protect them from?
All of this complaining about NATO, or WTO, or IMF, etc... Any globalization.
People forget -> The US designed and setup these systems. These were all founded and built by the US, to project US power and interests. How can we complain now for things we designed and wanted.
It sounds like a bunch of whining. "Oh Boohoo, We got what we wanted. I'm the most powerful country on the planet because we forced globalization on everybody and now I don't like it, boo hoo."