Donald Trump's spies already off to comically bad start to Greenland mission

American spies may struggle to blend in on Greenland, where the largest town has a population of less than 20,000

In romantic comedy Roman Holiday, after Crown Princess Ann goes missing, agents are flown in to look for her. As the identically dressed men march off the plane, one exasperated official says, “look at those men, they were supposed to be inconspicuous!” Another replies sheepishly, “you asked for plainclothes”.

One wonders if the American spies heading to Greenland will stick out like similar sore thumbs, given its largest town, Nuuk, has a population of about 20,000. The Wall Street Journal has reported the Trump administration is increasing its spying on Greenland, using satellites, communication intercepts and “human intelligence”, as it tries to bully Denmark into handing over the mineral-rich island.

Trump's spies will presumably choose a less conspicuous form of transport to get to Nuuk, Greenland (Picture: Emil Stach) | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima

The report prompted US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard to criticise the WSJ for “undermining our nation's security and democracy” and helping “deep-state actors” undermine the president. So it’s true then.

The ineptitude of Trump and co may be laughable, but his expansionist ambitions are not. Hopefully, there are enough “deep-state actors” with a genuine commitment to democracy to ensure Trump’s spies are about as successful as the comedic villains of Roman Holiday.