The renewed interest of President-elect Donald Trump in Greenland has not been well-received by the government of the autonomous territory.
On Sunday, the island’s Prime Minister stood firm against the president-elect’s assertion that acquiring the island is an “absolute necessity” for the United States.
“Greenland belongs to us,” stated Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede in a Monday announcement. “We are not for sale and will never be up for sale. We must not abandon our long struggle for freedom.”
This arctic island functions as an autonomous territory of Denmark and has had the right to pursue independence since 2009.
Trump indicated his interest in the territory by declaring his plan to nominate Ken Howery as the ambassador to Denmark. “For the sake of National Security and Freedom worldwide, the United States believes that ownership and control of Greenland is essential,” the president-elect remarked after praising Howery’s qualifications.
Howery, who previously held the position of ambassador to Sweden during Trump’s first term, did not make an immediate statement regarding this shift in focus.
“I am eager to collaborate with the dedicated teams at U.S. Embassy Copenhagen and U.S. Consulate Nuuk in Greenland to strengthen the ties between our nations,” he stated in a post on X expressing gratitude to the president-elect.
Individuals close to the president-elect informed the New York Post on Monday that he is “100% serious” about the possibility of acquiring Greenland, alongside reasserting control over the Panama Canal Zone—an idea he also mentioned earlier in the weekend, alleging the Central American country of charging American vessels “exorbitant” fees for usage of the canal.
In 2019, Trump initially raised the notion of purchasing Greenland. At that time, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected the idea, labeling the potential sale of the self-governing island as “absurd.” This situation resulted in a minor diplomatic disagreement between the two NATO allies, culminating in the Trump administration cancelling a diplomatic visit to Copenhagen.
Frederiksen continues to preside over the Nordic nation’s government. However, recent inquiries prompted her office to tell DR, Denmark’s public broadcaster, that they had no comments regarding Trump’s Greenland proposals. Instead, they redirected journalists to Egede’s remarks.
This proposition was also poorly received by various members of Denmark’s parliament. Socialist lawmaker Karsten Hønge labeled the gesture as “crude and cynical great power policy,” DR reported. Rasmus Jarlov, a conservative MP, called the ambitions “unacceptable.”
Though Greenland is sparsely populated, it possesses significant deposits of rare earth minerals, critical for manufacturing consumer products such as electric vehicles.
The U.S. has also operated the Pituffik Space Base, formerly known as Thule Air Force Base, located on the island’s northwestern shore since World War II. As the northernmost military base of the U.S., Pituffik plays a crucial role in upholding the nation’s missile warning and defense systems.
