If at first, you don’t achieve success, keep trying.
President-elect Donald Trump seemingly intends to make another effort to gain control of Greenland—an autonomous territory of Denmark that, by all reports, is not up for sale—even after a failed endeavor during his initial term resulted in a diplomatic uproar.
Trump shared his renewed fascination with Greenland at the conclusion of a Truth Social message on Sunday, where he named PayPal co-founder and former Swedish Ambassador Ken Howery as his choice for ambassador to Denmark.
After highlighting Howery’s qualifications, Trump remarked: “For the sake of National Security and Liberty around the Globe, the United States believes that possessing and managing Greenland is absolutely essential.”
This declaration emerges more than five years after Trump initially proposed the idea of purchasing Greenland, which he peculiarly referred to as “essentially a real-estate transaction.” In reality, Greenland’s autonomy is safeguarded by the Danish constitution, and any sale would require an amendment—something that Denmark has yet to pursue.
In 2019, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen—who remains in her position—deemed the notion “ridiculous.” In response, Trump canceled a planned official visit to Denmark, which consequently outraged the officials he was meant to meet.
After Trump secured re-election, Frederiksen reached out to congratulate him and promised cooperation on security matters, according to her office’s statement.
The Daily Beast has sought comments from her office regarding Trump’s recent post.
Due to its significant position in the North Atlantic, the U.S. has shown interest in acquiring Greenland for over 150 years. In 1946, then-President Harry Truman proposed purchasing the island for $100 million in what would have been the largest territorial gain in U.S. history.
However, this topic has historically been a dead end—even after Trump assured that he would not construct a Trump tower in the center of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
The incoming president is reportedly much more focused on the island’s coal, zinc, and copper deposits than on conventional real estate opportunities. Additionally, Greenland hosts the U.S.’s northernmost military base, Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base), which is crucial for intelligence-gathering for missile alerts and space monitoring.
This means Howery—who expressed on the social media platform X that he felt “deeply honored and humbled” by the nomination—will face significant challenges. Elon Musk responded to Howery’s message with a note encouraging the diplomat to “Assist America in acquiring Greenland,” complemented by a laughing emoji.
