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Donald Trump has reiterated his ambition to buy Greenland, putting pressure on the Danish government as the US president-elect’s son visited the Arctic island.
Trump promised to “make Greenland great again” just before his son Donald Jr landed on the world’s largest island on Tuesday in what was billed as a “private visit”.
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World,” the president-elect wrote on Truth Social.
Greenland, an autonomous part of the kingdom of Denmark, has become the centre of geopolitical intrigue after Trump, first in 2019 and then again now, proposed taking control of the vast island, home to just 56,000 people but central to the Arctic region.
His move places Denmark, which retains full control over foreign affairs and defence in Greenland, as well as providing it with a large annual grant, in a bind as the centrist government in Copenhagen ponders how to respond to the overtures from its own biggest security guarantor, the US.
Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s prime minister, responded on Tuesday to Trump by insisting that Greenland was “not for sale”, but stressing that she was keen to co-operate with Washington in the Arctic.
She conceded that the world’s largest island was likely to pursue independence in the coming years, which she called legitimate, although stressing she hoped to keep the kingdom of Denmark intact.
“We need a very, very close co-operation with the US. On the other hand, I would like everyone to respect that Greenlanders are a people. It is their country that is at stake here,” she told TV2, adding that Greenland had to decide its own fate.
Her words mark a diplomatic attempt to avoid enraging Trump, unlike in 2019 when she called his previous proposal to buy Greenland “an absurd discussion”, leading him to cancel a state visit to Denmark at short notice.
Múte Egede, Greenland’s prime minister, said in late December that “we are not for sale and never will be for sale” after Trump first expressed his renewed interest in the island.
Ahead of Greenland’s elections in April, Egede has strongly pushed for independence from Denmark, something only possible with help from outside investors interested in the island’s natural resources, including large deposits of rare earths as well as its potential for tourism.
Rasmus Jarlov, a former Danish minister and current Conservative MP, said Trump’s behaviour crossed a line. “It is peculiar and disrespectful behaviour towards both Greenland and Denmark,” he told TV2.
Trump said early on Tuesday: “My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be travelling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights.”
Trump Jr said in a podcast that he was not planning to buy Greenland and was merely there as a tourist and not intending to meet any government representatives.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of Denmark’s parliament, cautioned her fellow islanders from letting Trump dominate the territory’s upcoming elections.
Opinion polls have suggested strong support in Greenland for independence in the coming decades, as the island considers how to wean itself off the DKr3.9bn ($550mn) grant it receives annually from Copenhagen.
Geopolitical intrigue over the Arctic island increased during the Christmas period when Denmark’s new king, Frederik X, changed the royal coat of arms to feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands, another autonomous territory, more prominently.
Trump’s renewed play for Greenland received support from Elon Musk, his close ally and head of X and Tesla. “The people of Greenland should decide their future and I think they want to be part of America!” he wrote on X.
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