Analyse : L'annexion de la Norvège par Trump « serait la fin de l'Otan », déclare Chris Murphy.

Democrat also says president is 'spending no time thinking about the actual crises' like food aid and health costs

Donald Trump's threat to annex Greenland represents an existential crisis for Nato, the senior Democratic US senator Chris Murphy has warned, with the demise of the decades-old alliance potentially leading to a new era of global conflict.

"If we lose Nato, it's not just a matter of losing a military alliance—it's the end of an entire post-World War Two order that has kept Europe and Asia relatively peaceful," Murphy told CNN on Saturday. "And if that happens, God help us all."

Murphy's comments came as Trump again lashed out at his Democratic rivals, this time accusing them of being 'radically anti-police' and claiming without evidence that they want to 'defund the police'.

In an interview with Fox News on Friday night, Trump said he was open to discussing defunding the police but only if Democrats were willing to come up with a definition of what that means.

"I don't know what it is," Trump said. "They just say 'defund the police'. I want to know what that means."

Murphy's remarks about Nato came after Trump on Friday suggested he could annex Greenland, an autonomous territory, into the US, and then use it as a launching pad for military operations against Russia or China.

"I think we should buy Greenland," Trump told reporters at the White House. "And if they want to sell, that would be great."

The idea has immediately drawn scorn from experts, who say the US would have no legitimate reason to annex a self-governing territory that is home to just 56,000 people and which has little to offer the US militarily.

But Murphy's warning goes further than simply pointing out the absurdity of Trump's proposal. He said it revealed a deeper crisis in the way the US is governed, one that has seen the president increasingly ignore or undermine long-held institutions and alliances.

"This isn't just about Greenland," Murphy said. "It's about our entire relationship with Europe, our ability to work together on common challenges like climate change, and our commitment to defending democratic values."

Murphy is right to sound the alarm. Trump's threat to annex Greenland is just the latest example of his willingness to ignore or undermine long-held US alliances and institutions, including Nato, which he has repeatedly criticised and sought to weaken.

As Murphy notes, Trump's actions have real consequences for the world, not least in Europe, where Nato members are increasingly worried about their ability to defend themselves against potential Russian aggression.

"The truth is we're already seeing the effects of a weaker America," Murphy said. "Our allies are beginning to doubt whether they can rely on us and our adversaries are smelling blood."

Murphy's warning also extends to Trump's continued attack on the free press, his disregard for democratic norms and institutions, and his willingness to ignore or undermine the rule of law.

All of these trends are interlinked and collectively they represent a grave threat to US global leadership and stability. As Murphy notes, the consequences could be dire.

"If we don't stop this now," he said, "we're going to end up in a world that's even more dangerous than it already is."