Trump wants to buy Greenland. For what? : NPR

Donald Trump Jr. made a flying visit to Greenland on Tuesday — as a tourist, he said. He was greeted by local supporters and a Danish newspaper even blogged about his visit.

The trip follows recent comments from his father, President-elect Donald Trump, expressing interest in the United States purchasing the island.

Trump Jr. told local media he was in Greenland on a “very long personal day trip” – not shopping.

Here’s what you need to know about Greenland and Trump’s interest in the autonomous Danish territory.

What did Trump say about the United States and Greenland?

The president-elect spoke about purchasing Greenland while on the campaign trail and reignited interest last month after saying on Truth Social that “For reasons of national security and freedom around the world, “The United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Before his son’s trip to Greenland this week, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “Greenland is an incredible place, and people will benefit enormously if and when it becomes part of our nation” and that “it is a deal that needs to happen.”

At a news conference Tuesday, the president-elect said he could not rule out the use of military or economic coercion to seize Greenland or the Panama Canal.

Trump’s aspirations to purchase Greenland date back to at least August 2019, during his first term in the White House. At the time, he defended his idea by saying he was not the first American leader to suggest it.

So why Greenland?

It is unclear what Trump’s ambitions are for a US-controlled Greenland. But on Tuesday he said the United States needs both Greenland and the Panama Canal for “economic security.”

Experts say Greenland has great value, both geopolitically and as a source of vital minerals, which could help a country in the long term.

“From an Arctic perspective, Greenland is our look at everything that’s going on, including the Northern Sea Route, which is controlled by Russia,” said Amanda Lynch, professor of earth sciences. at Brown University. told NPR. “In addition, Greenland has many resources – not just hydrocarbons, but also rare earth minerals and uranium. And when we think about the green energy transition, access to rare earth minerals in particular is important for any nation.”

However, it is unlikely that Trump will be able to seize Greenland, Lynch says. Rather, it would be more productive for the United States to pursue strong partnerships and help sovereign governments “build their assets and work with us.”

“And if we are positive players in this space, then I think that is both the most positive and likely path forward,” she says.

Greenland, which is about three times the size of Texas and has a population of more than 56,000, is a self-governing territory of Denmark and the world’s largest island that is not a continent. It still depends on Denmark for its foreign, defense and security policy, but has its own parliament, prime minister and cabinet.

What did Greenland and Denmark say?

When Trump first floated the idea of ​​a U.S. purchase of Greenland in August 2019, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the time that “Greenland is not for sale.”

Frederiksen called for respect for Greenland after Trump’s press conference.

“We need very, very close cooperation with the United States,” Frederiksen said, according to Danish broadcaster TV2. “On the other hand, I would like to encourage everyone to respect the fact that the Greenlanders are a people. They are a population. It is their country that is at stake here.”

The Greenlandic Prime Minister, Múte Bourup Egede, reacted strongly on Tuesday.

“Let me repeat: Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people. Our future and our fight for independence is our business,” he said on Facebook.

“While others, notably the Danes and Americans, are entitled to their opinions, we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into hysteria and external pressure.”

“The future is ours and it is up to us to shape it,” he said, adding that “every day is dedicated to working to become independent.”

And in what some see as a rebuke to Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland, Denmark’s King Frederik X changed his country’s coat of arms to more prominently feature the Greenland symbol. Announcing the new design – the first since 1972 – the Danish Royal House said the king wanted to create a “contemporary royal coat of arms that both reflects the kingdom and takes into account history as well as heraldic tradition”.

The new coat of arms, unveiled on January 1, gives Greenland, represented by a polar bear, and the Faroe Islands, represented by a ram, their own sections, which “reinforces the prominence of the Kingdom in the royal coat of arms”. Previously, the symbols of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, as well as the three crowns, were all contained in a single section..

In his New Year’s speech, the king declared “we are all united.”

“From the Danish minority in southern Schleswig – which is even located outside the Kingdom – to Greenland. We are together,” he said.

NPR’s Scott Neuman, Philip Ewing and Leila Fadel contributed to this report.