Donald Trump, Jr. is traveling to Greenland amid his father’s renewed interest in the U.S. gaining control over the Danish territory.
The younger Trump reportedly has no plans to meet with any officials in Greenland during his visit Tuesday but the president-elect nonetheless linked the trip to his larger ambitions in a social media post.
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation,” Trump said Monday on Truth Social. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump last month revived a botched effort from his first term to acquire the territory from Denmark in 2019, calling “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for U.S. national security. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in 2019 called Trump’s plan “absurd.”
Trump’s renewed focus on Greenland is being met with exasperation and eye rolls from several current and former U.S. national security officials. Some point out that the island isn’t for sale and talks of acquiring the territory could just alienate Greenlanders and Danes from deeper cooperation with the U.S., which has a military base there.
“Pissing everybody off by saying we’re just going to buy them outright really bruises our bilateral relationship with the Danes and more importantly ruins any kind of way for us to work this out with Greenlanders,” said Jim Townsend, a former senior Pentagon official who worked on NATO and Arctic defense policy.
These officials stressed that Greenland’s strategic Arctic location is an asset for Washington and the U.S. should work to deepen ties with the territory. The territory is the world’s largest island and is rich in natural resources.
Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Egede, has said publicly that he wants to push for independence from Denmark but has also reiterated that his territory isn’t for sale in the midst of Trump’s proposals. Under a 2009 agreement, Greenland can declare independence from Denmark after a territory-wide referendum.
