'Disturbing': Once-skeptical analyst now fears Trump's Greenland vow is more than threat

MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen once believed that President Donald Trump's stated desire to take over Greenland was all hot air — but now he's not so sure.

In his latest column, Cohen — who is of no relation to the former Trump attorney of the same name — points to new evidence that the president is deadly serious about acquiring the large island nation, which would possibly require him to invade a NATO ally to get the job done.

Cohen believes that Vice President J.D. Vance's recent trip to Greenland was an indication that the United States really is making plans to launch a war of aggression for Greenland, which is currently owned by longtime American ally Denmark.

What particularly disturbed Cohen is that Vance didn't meet with any government officials in Greenland and only delivered a bellicose speech that baselessly accused the Danish government of doing a poor job of defending the territory.

ALSO READ: Elon Musk 'being driven visibly insane' by anti-Tesla protests: analysis

"The vice president’s menacing rhetoric follows a familiar and disturbing pattern," Cohen observes. "In January, before taking office, Trump refused to rule out economic or military coercion to take over the island. 'It might be that you’ll have to do something,' he said at the time in reference to Greenland and the Panama Canal. In his address to a joint session of Congress last month, he said, 'One way or another, we’re gonna get it.'"

What makes this most unnerving, adds Cohen, is there truly does not appear to be any strategic rationale for snatching Greenland.

"Why does Trump want Greenland so badly? I suspect it’s the same reason he wants to annex Canada and reclaim the Panama Canal," he warns. "It’s consistent with his propensity for slapping his name (always in giant letters) on garish, self-aggrandizing, yet oddly boring architectural monstrosities around the globe. It’s all about Trump’s ego."