What could be the future of Greenland in the next 4 years?
”Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,” stated by Premier of Greenland, Mute B. Egede. US President-elect, Donald J. Trump has expressed his desire to occupy Greenland, which he had repeated during his first term in 2019 as President. This topic has sparked debate and major attention worldwide on what the future holds for the US and Greenland.
Why does Trump desire to obtain Greenland?
“We need it for international security,” said Trump. Since Greenland is on the shortest route from North America to Europe, it is seen by the US as a significant factor for security purposes. According to Trump, gaining control over Greenland will not only increase safety worldwide, but will also increase people’s freedom. He states, “I think Greenland will get it because it has to do with freedom of the world.” In addition, he says, “It has nothing to do with the United States other than that we’re the one that can provide the freedom. They can’t.” A possible reason for Trump’s desire could be the natural resources Greenland possesses. Examples of resources that can be found there are rare earth minerals, uranium and iron through mining. Moreover, Greenland is in fact home to the large American space facility.
Trump’s viewpoint:
Last Saturday, Trump confidently expressed to Air Force One reporters that Denmark will certainly agree to his deal, including saying that Greenland’s 57,000 residents would “want to be with us.” He declared this because he believes maintaining Greenland as a territory is costing Denmark too much money. Regardless of Denmark’s claims about Trump’s statement about Greenland, he calls it an “unfriendly act” if Denmark disagreed with him. Since he supposes his desire for Greenland would create greater protection worldwide. In a Tuesday news conference, reporters asked Trump if he would proceed on using “military or economic coercion” to attain Greenland. However, he gave no clear answer if he would.
What are the responses / reactions of Trump’s desire?
Republican US Senator and Danish Lawmaker, Lisa Murkowski showed extreme disagreement against Trump’s desire. Issuing a joint statement with Chemnitz, “Open for business, but not for sale.” They insist the future between Greenland and the US should be defined by partnership and the US should see Greenland as an alley. Moreover, they both agreed that Trump’s reason for national security can still be achieved without the purchase of Greenland. “The future does not require us to redraw the borders on that map, but to work harder than ever across them,” Mukowski and Chemnitz said.
Furthermore, Mute Edge posted a statement on Facebook, which is translated, “We must not lose our year-long struggle for freedom. However, we must continue to be open to cooperation and trade with the whole world, especially with our neighbors.” Egede explained that Greenland was their own business to deal with. However, he proposed to work closer with the US towards mining and defense. Mette Fredericksen, the Prime Minister of Denmark, had a tense 45-minute phone call with President Trump in earlier January expressing her own controversy against Trump’s statements. She described that the only people who could determine Greenland’s future is the local population of Greenland. Fredericksen says, “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
Trump’s actions are still unclear of how far he is willing to go to attain a hold of Greenland. Yet, Denmark is already preparing for what could be a significant change to the entire globe.
Sources:
Hermon Mekuria & Lamek Weldegebriel (RHS student researchers)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-suggests-us-control-greenland/story?id=117057427
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/07/climate/trump-greenland-climate/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_the_United_States_to_purchase_Greenland
https://www.axios.com/2025/01/15/denmark-greenland-trump-cal
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkezj07rzro
Picture Credits:
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/greenlands-leader-ready-to-talk-to-trump
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/we-should-support-donald-trumps-attempt-to-buy-greenland/
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/greenland
