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Donald Trump jnr visited Greenland as his father, Donald Trump, discussed potential US interest in the territory.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasised Greenland’s autonomy, stating it belongs to the Greenlanders.
Donald Trump jnr made a private visit to Greenland on Tuesday as his father, the US President-elect, refused to rule out military action to take control of the mineral- and oil-rich autonomous Danish territory.
At a press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida while his sonvisited the Arctic island, Trump was asked whether he would exclude the use of military force to take control of Greenland and the Panama Canal, following comments made before Christmas that he wanted to take over both.
“I am not going to commit to that (no military action). It might be that you have to do something,” Trump told reporters.
"I am not going to commit to no military action," says Donald Trump during a press conference at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida. Photo / AFP
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish television TV2 she did not believe Trump’s pursuit would ever go that far.
“I don’t have the fantasy to imagine that it’ll ever get to that,” she said, calling for cool heads to prevail.
“As a very close ally of the United States, I think there is reason to be happy about the increasing American interest. But it will have to be done in a way that is respectful of the Greenlandic people,” she said.
A day earlier, Trump called Greenland “an incredible place”, promising that its people would prosper should it ever be annexed by Washington.
“We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
Donald Trump jnr made a private visit to Greenland on Tuesday. Photo / AFP
And on Tuesday, he wrote that the island needed “safety, security, strength and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen”.
But as Trump jnr arrived Tuesday for what he said was a day trip, Frederiksen warned: “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
Trump jnr insisted that he was not there “to buy Greenland”. “I will be talking to people. I’m just going there as a tourist,” he said on the social media platform Rumble.
A wellwisher (left) takes a picture with US businessman Donald Trump jnr (right) after arriving in Nuuk, Greenland on Tuesday. Photo / AFP
Greenland holds major mineral and oil reserves – though oil and uranium exploration are banned – and has a strategic location in the Arctic, and is already home to a US military base.
Greenlandic media said Trump jnr left Greenland after several hours, and no official meetings were held.
“This particular trip is probably just as Trump jnr said himself, to make video content,” Ulrik Pram Gad, a Greenland expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told AFP.
“What’s worrying is the way Trump [snr] is talking about international relations, and it can be even worse if he starts ‘grabbing land’,” he said.
Pushback
Trump first said he wanted to buy Greenland in 2019 during his first term as President, an offer quickly rejected by Greenland and Denmark.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said after Trump’s Christmas message.
“Most Greenlanders will be in line with their Prime Minister that Greenland is not for sale but open for business,” Pram Gad said.
Aaja Chemnitz, a lawmaker who represents Greenland in the Danish Parliament, rejected Trump’s offer with a firm “No thank you”.
“Unbelievable that some people can be so naive as to believe that our happiness lies in us becoming American citizens,” she wrote on Facebook, adding that she refused to be “a part of Trump’s wet dreams of expanding his empire to include our country”.
With 57,000 inhabitants spread out across 2.2 million sq km Greenland is geographically closer to North America than to Europe.
Colonised by the Danes in the 18th century, it is located around 2500km from Copenhagen, on which it depends for more than half of its public budget.
The subsidies it receives from Copenhagen amount to a fifth of its GDP.
The other pillar of its economy is the fisheries industry.
Steps toward independence
Greenland has been autonomous since 1979 and has its own flag, language and institutions, but the judiciary, monetary policy, defence and foreign affairs all remain under Danish control.
But Denmark’s creation of an Arctic ambassador to the island two years ago – a person with no ties to Greenland – has caused friction between Copenhagen and Nuuk.
In late December, the Danish Government announced that Greenland would from now on appoint candidates to the post, and represent the country on its Arctic Council.
In his New Year’s address, Greenland’s Prime Minister Egede said the territory had to take “a step forward” and shape its own future, “notably when it comes to trading partners and the people with whom we should collaborate closely”.
In 2023, plans for a Greenlandic constitution were presented to the local Parliament, the Inatsisartut.
There has been little public debate about it so far, but the issue could become a talking point in Greenland’s coming legislative elections, which must be held before April 6.
