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Taking action reminiscent of fictional watches, the Danish foreign affairs department has created a night watch unit—far from guarding against mythical foes, but to monitor the US president while Denmark is asleep.

The night watch begins at 5pm in Denmark each day and concludes with a report produced at 7am, which is then distributed throughout government departments and concerned offices detailing statements made and events taking place.

This position is understood to have been established in the wake of the bilateral row between Copenhagen and Washington over the Arctic island this spring, when the American leader threatened taking control of the strategic island.

Analysts point out that this measure is one of multiple instances of how Denmark's foreign policy and its government administration have had to adjust to the new reality of the second Trump administration.

An insider close to the ministry remarked, “It is fair to say that the circumstances in Greenland and the time difference between Denmark and the US was quite an important factor introducing this arrangement during the earlier months.”

Rather than all staff needing to promptly check their phones to catch up on news from the United States, the foreign office explained it had undertaken a coordinated approach to stay updated on the president's actions.

An expert, a former senior analyst at the Danish defence intelligence agency, stated that this move showed, “as we have always known,” that the notion of the United States as Denmark's primary ally was dead. “Partnerships are founded on common values and a mutual view of threats,” he said. “Trump shares neither of those with us and I would argue he doesn't share it with most Europeans.”