The EU states are indignant, the Greenland and Danish governments emphasize: “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, no one else.” But it cannot be ruled out that Donald Trump’s dream of gaining control over Europe’s largest island will still become reality.
However absurd the claim of the future American president, and therefore soon also of the US, on Greenland may seem at first glance, it is not. A look at the history books shows that the United States has made several attempts to gain control of the strategically important island. As early as 1867, when the US purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire, Washington considered making an offer to Denmark for Greenland and Iceland. In 1910 the Danish side considered a double exchange of Greenland with the US and Germany to gain access to Schleswig. (The northern part of it came to Denmark anyway after the First World War).
First American purchase offer after World War II
After occupying Greenland during World War II with the consent of the Danish government, the U.S. offered Denmark to purchase Greenland in 1946 for $100 million (about $100 billion in today’s currency). Although negotiations failed, the US maintained a strong military presence in Greenland during the Cold War. In 1951, the two countries signed a treaty that gave the US jurisdiction over the military bases it built on the island.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Greenland temporarily lost its central military importance to the US. In 2004, the US only had the Thule Airbase, built in 1953, in the northwest of the island. Since 2023 it has been officially called Pituffik Space Base. In 2020, a year after Trump’s initial purchase offer, the US reopened a consulate in Nuuk that was closed in 1953.
American interest in Greenland is not new, nor is it the only idea of one president. In addition to Greenland’s strategic position, which has again become threatening as a result of the territorial and economic ambitions of Russia and China, the focus of interest has shifted to the exploitation of already found and suspected mineral resources on the island, which are increasingly is becoming more realistic, and no longer at least due to climate change. There are significant deposits of rare earth elements and uranium in Greenland.
Independence efforts as an opportunity for Trump?
The current Greenland government under Mute Egede strives for independence from Denmark. With an annual subsidy currently of 4.3 billion kroner (about 576 million euros), Denmark contributes about half of Greenland’s total government revenues. In addition, Denmark spends another billion on its remaining powers (foreign policy and security) for Greenland. Despite recent increases in tourism revenues, it would be difficult for the island nation, which is largely dependent on fishing, to become independent without outside help.
The US and Donald Trump know this too. The latter recently made it clear that he does not want to annex Greenland to the US solely because of its strategic importance. “We need them (the Greenlanders) for our economic security,” Trump said in one of his speeches in early January. Clearly, this can really only mean the island’s vast mineral resources, especially the highly sought after rare earth elements. The parliamentary elections and a referendum on Greenland’s independence that may take place at the same time could therefore already set the course on whether Greenland, with its financial support, will remain in an ‘imperial community’ with Denmark, which is not loved by everyone is. or that the country will not choose the path of independence, opens a new option for Donald Trump to somehow bring the island under American control.
Outrage over videos of Trump fans in Greenland
A few days ago, Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland and also met supporters of his father, who spoke on camera in favor of annexation to the US (see below). The recordings distributed via Trump’s Truth Social platform caused an uproar. Danish media finds a staging. Several sources told broadcaster DR that the videos included several homeless and other socially disadvantaged people, often hanging out in front of a supermarket next to the hotel.
“These are homeless and elderly people who can suddenly eat in a restaurant they have never been to before,” a former resident of the capital Nuuk told the broadcaster. To get there, all they had to do was put on a “Make America Great Again” hat and participate in Trump’s staff videos. “They are being bribed and it is extremely distasteful,” he said.
Bribe the homeless with food?
Videos from the newspaper ‘Ekstra Bladet’ also showed how people were approached on the street by Trump employees and given ‘Maga’ caps. It shows, among other things, an older woman wearing such a cap who didn’t even know the name of the person she was having dinner with – Trump Jr.. She just went with it, she said. An outspoken fan of the US president-elect, who showed his son the Greenlandic capital Nuuk, denied to DR that people had been ‘recruited’ for the supermarket. Instead, they stood in front of the hotel themselves and showed interest.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
