NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had arrived in Washington with the aim of convincing Donald Trump that the Alliance is still necessary, but he hadn't anticipated running headlong into the tycoon's expansionist ambitions. The US president insisted to the leader of the Atlantic Alliance that he "needs" Greenland "for national security" and spoke about a possible annexation: "I think we'll do it. We really need it for national security." Greenland is an autonomous territory that is part of Denmark, a NATO ally. As if Rutte weren't already clear on what Trump wanted, Trump pointed at him and said: "I'm sitting with a man who could be pivotal."