Making Greenland Great Again? Why Trump has his eye on the Danish territory
During a press conference on Tuesday, President-Elect Trump took aim at Panama and Greenland, as US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports.
Trump has said he wouldn't rule out using the military to seize control of Greenland and threatened to impose high tariffs on Denmark if they didn't hand it over, while also predicting the island's people would welcome his plan.
“The people are going to probably vote for independence or to come into the United States," he told a press conference at his Mar a Lago residence on Tuesday.
It came as his eldest son Donald Trump Jr, visited Greenland on a "private" trip, amid renewed signs that the incoming US administration wants to take control of the Danish territory.
Trump Jr's plane had landed at Nuuk International Airport, as Greenland's government confirmed his visit would be as a "private individual" and not an official visit, meaning no representatives would be meeting with him.
The island’s permanent secretary for foreign affairs Mininnguaq Kleist said Trump Jr would be on the island for four to five hours, while ITV News' US partner CNN reported he was there to shoot video footage for a podcast.
The President-elect said on his social media site on Monday night: “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr., and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights."
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” Trump wrote.
“We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
Greenland has been the centre of a discussion over its control, with the island's government saying it is not for sale.
But with Trump retaking office in little over a week, what could this mean for the future of Greenland?
Why does Trump want to buy Greenland?
Greenland is the largest island in the world, 80% covered by an ice sheet.
It is also very mineral rich but that's no the main reason Trump is so interested in the territory, but rather for its political geography.
Currently the island is home to a largest and most northern US Space Base above the artic circle and sits in an area of strategic military importance for the US, China, and Russia.
In December Trump made headlines when he revived his desire to obtain the territory, calling it an “absolute necessity” that the US own and control Greenland for “purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world."
Trump also floated the idea of buying Greenland during his first term in office but was shot down by the island's government.
He later cancelled a 2019 visit to Denmark after his offer to buy Greenland was also rejected by Copenhagen.
How has Greenland responded?
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede responded to the US president-elect’s comments in December, quashing any ideas of a deal to buy Greenland.
He wrote on Facebook that Greenland is "not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our year-long struggle for freedom."
He has called for independence from Denmark, saying in a New Year’s speech that it would be a way for Greenland to free itself from its colonial past, but insists he has no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States.
Could Denmark be open to working with the US?
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the future of Greenland would be decided by Greenland, and called the United States Denmark’s most important ally.
Frederiksen, who called Trump’s first-term suggestion that Greenland could be purchased “absurd”, echoed Egede in December, reiterating Greenland is not for sale bus is "open for cooperation."
“As far as statements about Greenland, the Prime Minister’s Office has no comments other than reference to what was stated by the premier of Greenland about Greenland not being for sale, but open for cooperation,” the office added.
In December, following Trump's comments, Danish media reported the Minister of Defense, Troels Lund Poulsen, had presented a plan to invest billions of dollars in defending the coasts of Greenland.
In the same month, Denmark’s King Frederik X reasserted the kingdom's rights to Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, by changing Denmark's coat of arms to include fields that represent the two Danish territories.
Greenland is represented by a silver bear with red tongue. The royal announcement noted that since 1194, the royal coat of arms “visually symbolized the legitimacy and sovereignty of the state and the monarch.”
“We are all united and each of us committed for the Kingdom of Denmark,” the king said in his New Year’s address, adding: “all the way to Greenland.”
History of Greenland's ownership
Greenland was ruled by Denmark from the early 18th century until 1979, when home rule began.
In 2009, Greenland approved the Self-Government Act in a referendum which means Greenland can assume additional areas of responsibility.
Trump is not the first American president to have expressed an interest in controlling the island.
President Harry Truman dodged questions about his pursuit of control in the region, but the United States allegedly tried to buy Greenland in 1946, and in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward also showed interest in purchasing the island.
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