Taking action reminiscent of fictional watches, the Danish foreign affairs department has created a night watch team—far from guarding against fantasy threats, but to track Donald Trump as Denmark is asleep.
The night monitoring starts at 5 p.m. local time daily and concludes with a report compiled at 7am, which is then circulated across government departments and concerned offices covering statements made and developments that occurred.
The role is believed to have been established following the diplomatic row involving Copenhagen and Washington regarding Greenland earlier this year, when the American leader threatened acquiring control of the resource-rich island.
Observers note that this initiative is one of several examples of how Danish diplomacy and its civil service have had to adapt to the new reality of the second Trump administration.
An insider close to the ministry stated, “It's accurate to say that the circumstances in the region and the time difference separating Copenhagen and the US were a significant reason prompting this system during the spring.”
Rather than everybody needing to immediately check their phones to catch up on updates from the United States, the foreign office said it had undertaken a collective effort to stay updated on the president's actions.
An expert, a former chief analyst at the defense intelligence service, commented that this move showed, “as long understood,” that the notion of the United States as Denmark's largest and most important ally was dead. “Partnerships are founded on common values and a common threat perception,” he said. “Trump lacks both of those with Denmark and it can be said he lacks it with most Europeans.”
