Greenland profile
Greenland is the world's largest island and an autonomous Danish dependent territory with self-government and its own parliament.
Though a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe - in particular the two colonial powers, Norway and Denmark - since the 9th Century.
Denmark contributes two-thirds of Greenland's budget revenue, the rest coming mainly from fishing. Potential oil, gas and rare earth mineral reserves have attracted prospecting firms.
Greenland enjoys perpetual daylight for two months each year. Over 80% of the island is covered by a permanent ice cap 4km thick in places. Global warming is causing this to melt but has also increased access to Greenland's mineral resources.
The US has long seen Greenland as strategically important and established a radar base at Thule during the Cold War.
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Capital: Nuuk
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Area: 2,166,086 sq km
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Population: 57,000
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Languages: Greenlandic, also Danish and English
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Life expectancy: 71 years (men) 76 years (women)
Head of State: King Frederik X of Denmark
Prime Minister of Greenland: Mute Bourup Egede
Mr Egede took over in April 2021 after his left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit party won parliamentary elections on a platform of halting a rare metals mining project on environmental grounds.
Disagreement over the project led to the collapse of the previous government earlier in the year, paving the way for snap elections.
In January 2025, Egede announced a desire to obtain independence from Denmark in the wake of President-elect Trump's comments about buying the territory.
"The Greenlandic people's opportunity for independence has been adopted through the provisions of the Self-Government Act, thereby creating a legal basis for how independence can be achieved," Egede said.
Broadcasting in Greenlandic and Danish is the main source of news and entertainment.
There are no daily newspapers. The major titles - a weekly and a bi-weekly - publish in Greenlandic and Danish.
Some key dates in Greenland's history:
982 - Greenland discovered by the Norwegian, Erik the Red, who calls his discovery "Greenland" to make it more attractive. In 986 he returns with settlers.
14th-15th Centuries - Norse settlements disappear, perhaps at the onset of the Little Ice Age as temperatures fall significantly.
1721 - An expedition led by Danish-Norwegian missionary Hans Egede sees new Danish colonisation. A new settlement is established near present-day capital, Nuuk.
1940 - Denmark is occupied by Germany during World War Two.
1941-1945 - United States occupies Greenland to defend it against a possible invasion by Germany.
1950 - Denmark agrees to allow the US to regain the use of Thule Air Base which is greatly expanded between 1951 and 1953 as part of a Nato Cold War defence strategy.
1953 - Greenland becomes an integral part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
1968 - A USAF B-52 bomber carrying nuclear weapons crashes near Thule. Decades later, a BBC report says that despite earlier US claims to the contrary, searchers were only able to locate three of the four hydrogen bombs, external.
1979 - Greenland attains home rule following a referendum.
1985 - Greenland leaves the European Economic Community (EEC) over disagreement with EEC commercial fishing regulations and an EEC ban on seal skin products.
1999 - Danish High Court rules that Inuit were illegally exiled from their land in northern Greenland in 1953 to expand US airbase at Thule but denies them right of return.
2008 - Greenlanders vote in referendum for more autonomy, greater control over energy resources and granting Kalaallisut or Western Greenlandic status of official language in place of Danish.
2010 - Greenland's ice sheet is shrinking faster and making a bigger contribution to rising sea levels, a study in the journal Science confirms.
2013 - Greenland ends the territory's 25-year ban on the mining of radioactive materials such as uranium, leading to a boom in mineral resource exports.
2021 - Greenland bans all new oil and gas exploration in its territory. Government officials say the environmental "price of oil extraction is too high".
Rain falls on the summit of Greenland's ice cap for the first time in recorded history, which scientists attribute to climate change.
Trump ramps up threats to gain control of Greenland and Panama Canal
President-elect Donald Trump is showing no sign of letting up in his desire for the US to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal, calling both critical to American national security.
Asked by a reporter if he would rule out using military or economic force in order to take over the autonomous Danish territory or the Canal, he responded: "No, I can't assure you on either of those two.
"But I can say this, we need them for economic security," he told reporters during a wide-ranging news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. It is not clear how serious he was in his remarks, or if it was some negotiating tactic.
Both Denmark and Panama have rejected any suggestion that they would give up territory.
Trump also vowed to use "economic force" when asked if he would attempt to annex Canada and called their shared border an "artificially drawn line".
The boundary is the world's longest between two countries and it was established in treaties dating back to the founding of the US in the late 1700s.
The president-elect said the US spends billions of dollars protecting Canada, and he criticised imports of Canadian cars, lumber and dairy products.
"They should be a state," he told reporters.
But outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there isn't "a snowball's chance in hell" of the two countries merging.
The news conference was initially billed as an economic development announcement to unveil Dubai developer Damac Properties' $20bn investment to build data centres in the US.
But the president-elect went on to criticise environmental regulations, the US election system, the various legal cases against him, and President Joe Biden.
Among a variety of other things, he suggested renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America" and restated his opposition to wind power, saying wind turbines are "driving the whales crazy".
His remarks came as his son, Donald Trump Jr, was visiting Greenland.
Before arriving in the capital Nuuk, Trump Jr said he was going on a "personal day trip" to talk to people, and had no meetings planned with government officials.
- Trudeau says 'not a snowball's chance in hell' Canada will join US
- Trump's eyeing Greenland - but other Arctic investment is frozen
When asked about Trump Jr's visit to Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV that "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders" and that only the local population could determine their future.
She agreed that "Greenland is not for sale", but stressed Denmark needed close co-operation with the US, a Nato ally.
Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe and is home to a large American space facility. It also has some of the largest deposits of rare earth minerals, which are crucial in the manufacture of batteries and high-tech devices.
Trump suggested the island is crucial to military efforts to track Chinese and Russian ships, which he said are "all over the place".
"I'm talking about protecting the free world," he told reporters.
Since winning re-election Trump has repeatedly returned to the idea of US territorial expansion - including taking back the Panama Canal.
During the news conference, Trump said the canal "is vital to our country" and claimed "it's being operated by China".
He previously accused Panama of overcharging US ships to use the waterway, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has rejected Trump's claims and said there is "absolutely no Chinese interference" in the canal.
A Hong Kong-based company, CK Hutchison Holdings, manages two ports at the canal's entrances.
The canal was built in the early 1900s and the US maintained control over the canal zone until 1977, when treaties negotiated under President Jimmy Carter gradually ceded the land back to Panama.
"Giving the Panama Canal to Panama was a very big mistake," Trump said. "Look, [Carter] was a good man... But that was a big mistake."
It's unclear how serious the president-elect is about adding to the territory of the US, particularly when it comes to Canada, a country of 41 million people and the second-largest nation by area in the world.
During the news conference, Trump also repeated a number of falsehoods and odd conspiracy theories, including suggesting that Hezbollah, the Islamist militant group, was involved in the US Capitol riot of 2021.
Trump will not rule out force to take Panama Canal, Greenland
PALM BEACH, Florida, Jan 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump refused on Tuesday to rule out using military or economic action to pursue acquisition of the Panama Canal and Greenland, part of a broader expansionist agenda he has promoted since winning the Nov. 5 election.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, also floated the idea of turning Canada into a U.S. state, said he would demand far higher defense spending from NATO allies and promised to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Still two weeks away from taking office, Trump has begun outlining an aggressive foreign policy with little regard to diplomatic considerations or the concerns of U.S. allies.
Asked at a press conference at his Florida resort whether he could assure the world he would not use military or economic coercion as he tries to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, Trump said, "No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security."
Trump criticized American spending on Canadian goods and military support for Canada, saying the U.S. derives no benefits from doing so, and called the border between the two countries an "artificially drawn line."
He suggested he would impose tariffs on Denmark if it resists his offer to purchase Greenland, which he said is vital to U.S. national security. Shortly before Trump's comments, his son Don Jr. arrived in Greenland for a private visit.
Denmark has said Greenland, a self-governing part of its kingdom, is not for sale.
"I don't think it's a good way forward to fight each other with financial means when we are close allies and partners," Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said late on Tuesday in response to Trump's comments.
CANADA SAYS: 'WE WILL NEVER BACK DOWN'
Canada's minister of foreign affairs, Melanie Joly, said on X, "President-elect Trump's comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country. Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down in the face of threats."
Panama's top diplomat also pushed back on the incoming U.S. leader's threat to retake the key global waterway, which the U.S. had built and owned before handing over control to the Central American nation in 1999.
"The only hands that control the canal are Panamanian and that's how it will continue to be," Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha told reporters on Tuesday.
Ambassador Daniel Fried, a retired U.S. diplomat now with the Atlantic Council think tank, said Trump's comments painted a picture of national power as territorial expansion and compared him to a "19th century imperialist."
Seizing Greenland, Fried said, "would destroy NATO, because it would make us no different than Vladimir Putin," Russia's president.
Trump's promise to rename the Gulf of Mexico echoed his previous vow to revert the name of Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, to Mount McKinley. Former President Barack Obama changed the name of the Alaskan mountain in deference to Native Americans.
Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who is expected to play a key role in looming U.S.-Mexico trade issues, appeared to dismiss Trump's call to rename the shared body of water later on Tuesday.
"Today I'd tell you if we saw each other in 30 years, the Gulf of Mexico will still be called the Gulf of Mexico," he said, adding that the Mexican government would not get drawn into the debate.
Typically, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names sets geographic names, though presidents have also renamed geographic features via executive action.
Trump said NATO members should spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense, a significant increase from the current 2% target.
"I think NATO should have 5%," he said. "They can all afford it, but they should be at 5%, not 2%."
Trump has frequently complained that most NATO members are not paying their fair share, and he floated demanding an increase in NATO defense contributions during the campaign.
NATO estimated that 23 of its 32 members would meet its goal of spending 2% of GDP in 2024.
None of the alliance members, including the U.S., currently spends 5% of GDP on defense, according to NATO figures. Poland is the highest spender in GDP terms at 4.12%, followed by Estonia at 3.43% and the United States at 3.38%.
Trump also repeated his threat that "all hell will break out in the Middle East" if Palestinian Hamas militants do not release by the time he takes office hostages it abducted from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and still hold in the Gaza Strip.
"It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone," he said.
His Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, told reporters he hopes to have good things to report on negotiations between Israel and Hamas by the time Trump is sworn into office.
The free-wheeling, hour-long press conference, Trump's second since his victory, echoed similar events during his presidential campaign.
He aired a series of familiar grievances about his criminal indictments, including attacking Justice Juan Merchan, the New York judge who is scheduled to sentence Trump on Friday for falsifying business records in connection with hush money payments to a porn star.
A New York appeals court denied his latest bid to halt the sentencing shortly after his press conference ended.
Separately, as Trump was speaking, a U.S. judge temporarily blocked Special Counsel Jack Smith from releasing a report on his investigations into Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
The judge, Aileen Cannon, had previously dismissed the case charging Trump with illegally retaining classified materials after leaving office.
Tuesday's event took place in the ornate living room at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach resort. Several of Trump's senior advisers watched the proceedings, while club guests could be seen outside dining on the terrace.
Trump was also asked whether it was appropriate for Elon Musk to publicly weigh in on foreign affairs. In recent weeks, the billionaire Trump ally has used his X platform to comment on European politics, including expressing support for Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany.
"I can say Elon is doing a good job, very smart guy," Trump said. "I don't know the people you're talking about."
Trump Jr. visits Greenland after his father says he wants to take it over
COPENHAGEN, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Donald Trump's eldest son Donald Jr. arrived in Greenland's capital Nuuk on a private visit on Tuesday, a day after the U.S. president-elect reiterated his interest in taking control of the island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
The president-elect, who takes office on Jan. 20, has signalled he would pursue a foreign policy unbound by diplomatic niceties, threatening to take control of the Panama Canal.
Last month he said U.S. control of Greenland was an "absolute necessity" and on Monday he posted on his Truth Social platform: "MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"
"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation," he wrote.
Trump later on Monday declined to rule out military or economic action as part of his avowed desire to have the U.S. take back control of the Panama Canal and acquire Greenland.
Asked at a press conference whether he would avoid using military or economic coercion in Panama and Greenland, Trump said, "No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security."
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish broadcaster TV2 following Trump's comments that she did not think it was a good way forward to fight close allies with financial means.
"The United States are our most important and closest ally...so I can't imagine us getting there," she said.
Donald Trump Jr. flew in his father's "Trump Force One" private plane for a visit expected to last 4-5 hours. No meetings were scheduled with government officials on the island, which has a population of just 57,000.
"Greenland coming in hot ... Well, actually, really really cold!!!!," Trump Jr. said in a post on X along with a video from the cockpit as the plane prepared to land between snow-covered mountains.
"We're really happy to be here. We're here as tourists to see this incredible place," he told local broadcaster KNR upon arrival, adding that he had originally planned to visit last spring. He said he had spoken to his father, "and he says hello to everyone in Greenland".
Trump's incoming director of the Presidential Personnel Office, Sergio Gor, and Trump's incoming deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs, James Blair, also traveled to Greenland with Don Jr, according to their posts on social media site X.
"As someone who has traveled to some fascinating places across the globe as an outdoorsman, I'm excited to stop into Greenland for a little bit of fun this week," Donald Trump Jr said in an emailed response about the trip.
In 2019, Trump postponed a scheduled visit to Denmark after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rebuffed his idea of the U.S. purchasing Greenland, which was a Danish colony until 1953 and is now a semi-sovereign territory under the Danish realm.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has stated that the island is not for sale and in his New Year speech stepped up a push for independence.
"Our future and fight for independence is our business," Egede said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
"While others, including Danes and Americans, are entitled to their opinions, we should not be caught up in the hysteria and let external pressures distract us from our path."
Denmark, a NATO ally, has seen relations with Greenland worsen in recent years, prompted by allegations of historic mistreatment of residents under Danish rule.
On Monday, Egede postponed a meeting with Denmark's King Frederik scheduled to take place in Copenhagen on Wednesday. No reason was given for the postponement.
Frederiksen told broadcaster TV2 on Tuesday: "We need very close cooperation with the Americans.
"On the other hand, I would like to encourage everyone to respect that the Greenlanders are a people, it is their country, and only Greenland can determine and define Greenland's future."
Greenland straddles the shortest route between Europe and North America and is strategically important for the U.S. military and its ballistic missile early-warning system.
It boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth, but development has been slow, leaving its economy reliant on fishing and subsidies from Denmark.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, said a U.S. takeover should be rejected.
"I don't want to be a pawn in Trump's hot dreams of expanding his empire to include our country," she wrote.
Trump won't rule out military action to take control of Greenland as son visits
President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday wouldn't rule out exercising military or economic coercion to further his goal of bringing both Greenland and the Panama Canal under U.S. control, as his son, Donald Trump Jr., is in Greenland amid Trump's push to acquire the autonomous territory of Denmark.
"I can't assure you, you're talking about Panama and Greenland," Trump told reporters during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. "No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this — we need them for economic security."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected Trump's designs on Greenland but said she'd continue to welcome American interest and investment, in light of Trump Jr.'s visit.
"I, of course, hope that Trump Jr. will have the opportunity to see Greenland and visit the magnificent country," Frederiksen said in a TV interview Tuesday. "But it is also important to hold fast that the future of Greenland is defined by the Greenlanders, not by the rest of us."
"It is their country that we are talking about here, and it is Greenland that, in my eyes, can determine and define Greenland's future," she said. Frederiksen still considers the U.S. a valuable ally as Moscow and Beijing increase their cooperation.
"I would much rather have American investment and American interest than I want Russian or Chinese," she said. "On the other hand, I would like to encourage everyone to respect that the Greenlanders are a people, they are a population," Frederiksen said. "It is their country that is at stake here."
Trump Jr. arrived Tuesday in Greenland on his father's "Trump Force One" plane, weeks after his father again expressed a desire for the U.S. to gain control of the autonomous Danish territory. The visit comes just a day after Trump suggested the people of the vast region were "MAGA," in a post on social media.
"Just here as tourists," Trump Jr. told journalists as he walked into the airport in Greenland's capital city of Nuuk on Tuesday. "We've been talking about going for a while. I was actually supposed to be here last spring for some of the stuff I do in my free time, but just really excited to be here. Awesome country."
He was quickly asked about his father, who's stated a desire to make Greenland part of the U.S., but he replied only to say that the soon to be second-term president, "says hello."
"We were talking to him yesterday, so he says hello to everyone in Greenland," said Trump Jr.
Greenland has a population of about 57,000 and is a fully autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has oil, natural gas and mineral resources, but its economy is reliant on subsidies from Denmark and from fishing.
Still, Trump on Tuesday expressed doubt about Denmark's control of Greenland, despite Greenland's status as an autonomous territory.
"Nobody even knows if they have any right, title or interest," Trump said, inaccurately, of Denmark and Greenland.
"The visit of Donald Trump Jr. is a private visit and that is being respected by Naalakkersuisut — the Government of Greenland. Therefore, there will also not be reactions to the visit," Mininnguaq Kleist, Greenland's permanent secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CBS News ahead of his arrival on Tuesday. "Our country is open for visits, and visitors are welcome in our beautiful country."
Reuters, citing a source familiar with the trip, said Trump Jr. was planning to shoot content for a podcast, and that he would only be visiting for one day.
On Monday, President-elect Trump said in a social media post that he was, "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. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"
Trump had expressed interest in buying Greenland during his first term in office, though the idea was quickly rebuffed by Danish authorities.
Two weeks ago, Trump said on social media that, "for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
Greenland's government has twice rebuffed assertions of interest in the territory by Trump, with Prime Minister Mute Egede saying just before Christmas that "Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale."
Last week, Egede gave a New Year's speech pushing for Greenland to remove "the shackles of colonialism" and gain full independence from Denmark.
"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," Egede said.
One Greenlandic lawmaker in Denmark's parliament, Aaja Chemnitz, said Trump's interest should be dismissed, Reuters reported.
"I don't want to be a pawn in Trump's hot dreams of expanding his empire to include our country," Chemnitz said.
Trump wants to buy Greenland again. Here’s why he’s so interested in the world’s largest island
On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. landed in Greenland, the Arctic island his father, President-elect Donald Trump, has expressed a strong desire to purchase, despite sharp statements from Greenland that itis not for sale.
Trump Jr. framed the trip as “a little bit of fun,” telling CNN, “as an outdoorsman, I’m excited to stop into Greenland for this week.”
But the trip has fueled speculation about what exactly his father’s plans are for this Arctic territory.
In December, Trump revived calls made in his first presidency for US ownership of Greenland, calling it “an absolute necessity.” Asked at a Tuesday news conference whether he would rule out using “military or economic coercion” to gain Greenland — or Panama, which Trump has also expressed desire to own — the president-elect responded, “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this: We need them for economic security.”
The president-elect says owning Greenland is vital for US security, but experts say he may also be eyeing other aspects of Greenland such as its trove of natural resources — including rare earth metals — which may become more accessible as climate change melts the territory’s ice.
Greenland is the world’s largest island and home to more than 56,000 people. A former Danish colony and now an autonomous territory of Denmark, it occupies a unique geopolitical position, sitting between the US and Europe. Its capital city Nuuk is closer to New York than it is to Denmark’s capital Copenhagen.
It’s long been seen as key for US security, especially to repel a potential attack from Russia, said Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies. The Northwest Passage shipping lane runs along its coast and the island is part of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, a strategic maritime region.
Trump is not the first US president to float the idea of buying Greenland. In 1867, when President Andrew Johnson bought Alaska, he also considered purchasing Greenland. At the end of World War II, the Truman administration offered Denmark $100 million for the island, according to documents first reported on by Danish media.
Neither offer came to fruition, but under a 1951 defense treaty, the US got an air base now called Pituffik Space Base, in northwest Greenland. Midway between Moscow and New York, it’s the northernmost outpost of the US armed forces and is equipped with a missile warning system.
The US is keen to ensure “no hostile great powers control Greenland, because it can be a foothold for attacking the US,” Pram Gad told CNN.
What might be even more appealing to Trump, however, is Greenland’s rich deposits of natural resources, said Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London.
These include oil and gas, as well as the rare earth metals in high demand for the electric cars and wind turbines of the green transition, as well as for manufacturing military equipment.
Currently China dominates global rare earth production and has already threatened to restrict the export of critical minerals and associated technologies, ahead of Trump’s second term.
“There is no question at all that Trump and his advisers are very concerned about the stranglehold that China appears to have,” Dodds told CNN. Greenland offers a potentially rich source of these critical minerals, he added. “I think Greenland is really about keeping China out.”
Melting ice and rapidly rising Arctic temperatures are giving Greenland a front-row seat to the climate crisis, but some also see economic opportunities as climate change reshapes the country.
The loss of ice has opened up shipping routes, increasing the amount of time they can be navigated during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Arctic shipping rose 37% over the decade to 2024, according to the Arctic Council, in part due to melting ice.
“Trump, I think, instinctively gets the idea that the Arctic is melting,” and the perceived opportunities, Dodds said. Although he cautioned, in reality, conditions along these routes are still often treacherous, and melting ice may make waters even more dangerous to navigate.
There is also a suggestion that melting ice may make natural resources easier to access, but the climate crisis has not yet proved much of a “game-changer” for this, said Phillip Steinberg, a geography professor at the University of Durham.
It’s not that climate change is making Greenland’s resources more accessible, he told CNN, but rather “more necessary.”
The governments of both Denmark and Greenland have come out strongly against the idea the Arctic nation can be purchased.
“We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our yearslong struggle for freedom,” Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede wrote in a Facebook post in late December.
Kuupik V. Kleist, a former prime minister of Greenland, said Trump was talking more to US citizens than to Greenlanders. “I don’t see anything in the future that would pave the way for a sale. You don’t simply buy a country or a people,” he told CNN.
But Trump’s comments come at an interesting time for Greenland, Dodds said. Its Inuit-led government has recently been ramping up demands for independence from Denmark. In his new year address, Egede called for the “shackles of the colonial era” to be removed.
“It’s panicking Denmark,” Dodds said, which appears to have been focusing more on its relationship with Greenland. In December, Denmark announced a huge increase in military spending for Greenland. Then, at the start of January, the Danish royal family launched a redesigned royal coat of arms, increasing the prominence of the polar bear symbolizing Greenland.
Greenland has been looking to boost its independence by diversifying its economy away from fishing. It opened a new airport in Nuuk in November as part of plans to increase tourism. But it still relies on a roughly $500 million annual grant from Denmark, which has proved a big sticking point to independence.
This raises a very intriguing question, Dodds said. “What would Greenland do if Trump offered, say, $1 billion a year to have a different kind of association?”
Some Greenlandic politicians have been floating the idea of a special association, similar to the one the US has with the Marshall Islands, where Greenland has sovereignty but also financial support from the US, in exchange for agreements on certain US strategic interests.
Former Prime Minister Kleist expressed heavy skepticism this kind of association could work, however. “I don’t think either that (this) is of any interest. Just think of how the US have treated its own Indigenous Peoples.”
For now, it remains unclear how far Trump will pursue his stated desire to acquire Greenland once in office. “Nobody knows if it’s just bravado, if it’s a threat to get something else, or if it’s actually something that he wants to do,” said Pram Gad.
