Greenlanders Respond to Trump’s ‘Piece of Ice’ Comments

For over 56,000 people, Greenland is far more than a “piece of ice” — it’s home.

That’s what three residents of Greenland told Business Insider on Wednesday after President Donald Trump repeatedly referred to the island as a “piece of ice” and called it “Iceland” on several occasions during a speech to World Economic Forum attendees at the Davos Conference.

On one occasion, Trump took a more complimentary tone and referred to the autonomous territory of Denmark as a “big, beautiful piece of ice.” He added that the US “alone can defend this giant piece of ice,” calling it a “core national security interest.”

Trump isn’t the first US president to want to acquire Greenland. In fact, the US has been discussing it since the 19th century. However, residents across Greenland — in the south, the north, and the capital — told Business Insider they don’t appreciate Trump’s rhetoric.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Greenland is viewed as just an asset

“Just calling Greenland a ‘piece of ice’ is so inaccurate,” 32-year-old Ole Olsvig told Business Insider. Olsvig, an entrepreneur and tourist guide in Qaarsut in North Greenland, called the rhetoric “outrageous,” “disrespectful,” and “commoditizing.”

Technically, about 80% of Greenland is covered by a giant ice sheet. That’s not what concerns Olsvig, though; it’s what the remarks imply.

It erases people and implies disposability, he said. “Greenland is like being treated as an asset, not a society of people.”

Trump has spoken of acquiring Greenland since his first presidential term. In his Davos speech on Wednesday, he called for “immediate negotiations” about the US taking control of Greenland, saying, “We need it for strategic, national security, and international security.”

“We’re not for sale,” Tupaarnaq Kreutzmann Kleist, a sheep farmer who lives in Qassiarsuk in South Greenland, told Business Insider.

She added that she thinks Trump wants Greenland for more than just national security reasons — he also wants access to Greenland’s trove of natural resources.

“We have very strict rules in the mining industry, which is good. So even though he really wants to buy Greenland, it’s not just like a place he can just buy and then make a mine,” she said.

Greenland has its own culture

Another point of contention among Greenlanders is that Trump’s portrayal of Greenland as a “piece of ice” ignores the territory’s rich and distinct culture.

Greenland has its own official language, self-governance, and cultural practices, including hunting, fishing, and sled dogs, Olsvig said. “Greenland isn’t just a blank map.”

Kleist added, “We’re not becoming part of America,” despite Trump’s wishes.

Greenlanders call that ‘piece of ice’ home

The attention Greenland has gotten on the world stage has had some positive effects, said 28-year-old Casper Frank Møller, the CEO and cofounder of Greenland tourist company Raw Arctic, which is based in Nuuk.

For example, his company saw a surge in interest from tourists at the start of 2025 when Trump re-raised the topic of acquiring Greenland.

However, Møller said that the US’s raid on Venezuela has caused further concerns among people in Greenland because “there was just way more power behind the words.” He estimates that 20 to 30 customers have postponed travel plans to Greenland as they wait out the situation.

He added that Trump’s aggressive approach toward Greenland has actually made the country a little less polarized and more united toward potential independence.

“We don’t want to be American. We don’t want to be Danish. We want to be Greenlandic. The question is just, when should we cut the ties?” he said.

“We as Greenlandic people, we are democratic, we aim for diplomacy, and we don’t want any warfare to be happening here in Greenland. We’re looking for diplomatic solutions,” he added.

Møller, for one, seemed to see some truth in the description of Greenland as a “piece of ice.”

“Greenland for sure has an immense, abnormally big piece of ice in the ice sheet,” he said. “It’s true.”

That said, “we have some of the most beautiful places on Earth. Some of the most remote, untouched areas that you can imagine,” he added. “And I would say, for that big chunk of ice, that’s what we call home.”