Mulvaney warns Trump Greenland push could lead to higher interest rates

Mick Mulvaney, a chief of staff during President Trump’s first term, warned that the president’s push to acquire Greenland could lead to higher interest rates, potentially undermining his affordability messaging ahead of the 2026 midterms. In an interview Monday with NewsNation’s Blake Burman, Mulvaney cautioned that a strained relationship with European allies could mean they buy less U.S. debt, hiking interest rates for consumers. “Let’s be careful,” Mulvaney said, when asked what advice he would give the president, if he were still serving as his top aide. “Look, I’m all in on the importance of Greenland — the military importance, the strategic minerals. I get all of that. But at what cost?” “Keep in mind, this is our largest creditor. Europe buys more of our debt than anybody else. And if they stop doing that, interest rates are going to go up,” he added. “That’s not really good for affordability and the reelect.” Mulvaney said higher interest rates, coupled with the immediate impact of tariffs on prices, could make it more challenging for Republicans to win on an affordability message in the 2026 midterm elections. “Say what you want about tariffs — I think you can make the case that maybe they don’t drive prices up all the time — but, look, everybody agrees they don’t drive prices down,” Mulvaney said. Mulvaney, who also served as Trump’s first-term director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), said he would advise the president that “there’s nothing you’re doing here that’s going to solve the affordability crisis.” “I get it. It’s important, but not at any price because the cost here could be much, much larger than I think the administration is considering,” he added. Trump announced new tariffs on imports from European allies who oppose Trump’s bid to acquire the semiautonomous Danish territory in the Arctic. Trump has made the case that Greenland is important for U.S. national security interests. But he also suggested, in a text message to Norway’s prime minister released Monday, that his latest push for the island is tied to the decision not to award him the Nobel Peace Prize. Mulvaney called the message “bizarre” and said “I don’t think that sells” in elections. “I think you could look at the American people and make a compelling case that there’s a national security interest, but I don’t think you can go to the American people and say, ‘Oh, by the way, I also want this because I didn’t win the Nobel Peace Prize,’” Mulvaney said. “Those are the kind of arguments that get you crushed politically in the midterms,” he continued.