Donald Trump Jr made a surprise visit to Greenland, an Arctic island. It comes after his dad, President-elect Donald Trump, insisted “making Greenland great again” – and taking it over – is a priority
12:09, 07 Jan 2025Updated 12:09, 07 Jan 2025
Donald Trump has launched a new bid to persuade Greenland to join the US.(Image: Getty Images)
President-elect Donald Trump has once again expressed his desire to make Greenland part of the United States, calling ownership of the Arctic island an “absolute necessity” and promising to “make Greenland great again.”Trump made his intentions known on his Truth Social platform, revealing he had sent a delegation to the island which included his son, Donald Trump Jr. Greenland is an autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark but that hasn’t stopped Trump lusting over the island in the past. During his first term as US president, Trump was rebuffed twice by Greenland’s leaders.
However, the renewed interest comes following Greenlandic Prime Minister, Múte Egede’s New Year’s speech in which he stepped up calls for independence from Denmark. An independence movement has garnered traction in the territory in recent years partly due to the uncovering of misconduct by Danish authorities during the 20th century – this included an involuntary birth control campaign launched in the 1960s.
Donald Trump has previously expressed his desire for the US to take control of Greenland.(Image: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
“It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be.
“The history and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark has not succeeded in creating full equality,” Egede said.
Greenland isn’t the only territory that Trump has mused about converting into the 51st state of America. The US president-elect has made several posts about Canada joining its ranks and has previously referred to the recently resigned Justin Trudeau as a governor rather than prime minister of the country.
An independence movement in Greenland has garnered popularity in recent years.(Image: (Image: Getty))
Any deal involving the purchase of territory wouldn’t be new to the US with the global superpower even having past transactions with Denmark as recently as 1944 when the US purchased the Water Island for $10,000 from to complete the US Virgin Islands. The other islands of Saint Thomas, Saint John, and Saint Croix, previously known as the Danish West Indies, were purchased from the European nation for $25,000,000 in 1917.
The Alaska Purchase in 1867 also saw the then-Russian territory become a US possession to the tune of $7.2 million in 1867, equivalent to more than $150million today. This deal was a steal for the US though, despite being mocked at the time. The territory proved lucrative during the gold rush and was eventually ratified as the 49th, and largest, state in 1959.
Justin Trudeau resigned as Canadian Prime Minister on January 6.(Image: AP)
But, why Greenland? The island is the third-largest landmass in North America, after Canada and the United States, and has a population of around 60,000 people – a third of which reside in its capital, Nuuk. Its inhabitants are also hold full Danish citizenships. Trump called the potential acquisition an “absolute necessity” for US national security – but why? The simple answer, often, is geography. Greenland’s position atop North America in the Arctic helps form the GIUK gap – a naval chokepoint made up of Greenland, Iceland and the UK.
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This strategic positioning makes Greenland a valuable asset amidst ever-simmering tensions between the US, Europe and Russia. The GIUK is a chokepoint for the world’s sea lanes and has historically given the UK advantages in the Atlantic Ocean as the only other way for ships, commercial or military, in Northern Europe to access the Atlantic is through the British Channel which is much narrower and well defended.If a non-nuclear war was to break out between NATO and Russia, any Russian naval ship heading for the Atlantic would likely have to pass through the GIUK gap. In times of war, strategic position is key and, currently, Russia has a dominating position in the Arctic compared to its rival superpower, the US – something Trump is aware of. Purchasing Greenland would show significant intent to revitalise the US’ Arctic strategy.
The updated Danish coat of arms which features Greenland more prominently. (Image: (Image: Wikicommons))
However, it appears that Trump might not get his wish as yesterday (Jan 6) the King Frederik of Denmark unveiled an updated coat of arms with Greenland featured more prominently than before. The move has been seen as a clear statement to the incoming US president that Greenland will remain a Danish territory.In the coat of arms, Denmark’s autonomous territories, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, have been represented by a polar bear and a ram alongside three crowns to symbolise the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In the updated version, the three crowns have been removed and the polar bear and ram given more prominent spots on the crest.