 "Donald Trump's comments on buying Greenland and making it a part of the US have elicited a variety of responses from Greenlanders. File image/Reuters")
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Múte Egede, has called for calm and unity after US President-elect Donald Trump sparked outrage by suggesting the use of tariffs or military force to acquire Greenland.
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” Egede declared in a firm response to Trump’s comments. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy dismissed the notion of US annexation, saying it is “not going to happen,” while Germany and France issued warnings against such moves.
Trump’s remarks have reignited tensions with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) allies and drawn sharp rebukes from Greenlanders and European leaders.
The controversy intensified when Donald Trump Jr. landed in Nuuk aboard a private jet emblazoned with the Trump name, vowing to “make Greenland great again.”
Greenlanders react
For many Greenlanders, Trump’s remarks have been unsettling. The Guardian cited Ole Hjorth, a 27-year-old air traffic controller in Nuuk, as saying, “Our country is ours – it’s not for sale.”
“If he used military force, that would mean going to war with the rest of Nato, and implementing sanctions and tariffs on Denmark, and therefore the rest of the EU as well.”
Frans H. Petersen, a 21-year-old student from Maniitsoq, exuded confidence in Greenland’s leadership.
“When the Greenlandic government firmly stated that Greenland is not for sale and never will be, I felt reassured,” Petersen said. While he supports eventual independence, he added that the current relationship with Denmark provides Greenlanders with a high quality of life.
Paneeraq, a 22-year-old from Sisimiut, shared a more cautious view, citing the colonial history of the Americas. “I will never support Trump and I will never support what colonial Americans have done to Native Americans, but there will always be hope for some type of agreement from both sides that would benefit the people of Kalaallit Nunaat,” the Guardian quoted them as saying.
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Trump’s ambition to acquire Greenland dates back to 2019, when he described it as “essentially a real estate deal.”
Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark, achieved the right to independence through a 2009 referendum but remains closely tied to Denmark.
Its strategic location and natural resources have long attracted geopolitical interest. During World War II, the US occupied Greenland while Denmark was under Nazi control, but the territory was returned to Danish governance in 1945. The US maintains a military base in Greenland’s northwest.
Trump’s comments have come amid ongoing debates about Greenland’s future. Egede has been a vocal advocate for independence, aligning with the aspirations of many Greenlanders.
A 2019 University of Copenhagen poll found that 67.7 per cent of Greenlandic adults supported independence from Denmark at some point in the future.