As Donald Trump continues to talk about taking control of Greenland, his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., traveled to the autonomous Dutch territory on Tuesday — but officials in Greenland and Denmark are making clear they don’t want anything to do with what Trump is proposing. .
“Don Jr. and my representative have landed in Greenland,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Tuesday. “The reception has been wonderful. They and the free world need safety, security, strength and peace! This is a deal that must be done. Maga. Make Greenland great again!
Donald Trump’s message to Truth Social, announcing his son’s arrival in Greenland.
Donald Trump / Social Truth
The Greenlandic government said in a statement that Trump Jr.’s visit is taking place as a “private individual” and not an official visit, and that Greenlandic representatives will not meet with him.
Moreover, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.” the The island is “not for sale” “We need to remain calm and stick to our principles,” she said, adding.
Trump Jr. said in a podcast on Monday that he was making the trip without any political motives, calling it a “personal day trip.” But the visit had political dimensions.
The president-elect has expressed his desire – also expressed during his first presidency – to acquire territory in the Arctic, a region of strategic importance to the United States, China, Russia and other countries.
Shortly after his son arrived in Greenland, Trump said in a press conference that he would not do so – Excluding the use of military force or economic coercion To take control of Greenland, saying “we need it for national security.”
Greenland, the largest island in the world, is located between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and 80% of it is covered by ice. The population of the autonomous region is about 56 thousand people, most of whom are indigenous Inuit.
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Greenland’s Prime Minister, Mott Egedy, 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 Egedi also said he had no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States, insisting the island was not for sale.
Independence has become a major issue ahead of Greenland’s parliamentary elections. No date has been set yet, but it should take place no later than April 6.
Aja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, told the Associated Press that she had done so There is no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States She said she hears the same sentiments from her constituents.
“Most people don’t want that,” she said. “I think some people find that quite disrespectful. The way it’s been done, the fact that you’re saying you can buy another country.”
Trump has his sights set on Canada, too
Greenland is not the only region outside the United States that Trump has talked about annexing to the United States and making it part of it; He can’t stop talking about Canada becoming the 51st state.
At the same news conference on Tuesday where he said he would not rule out military force or economic coercion in Greenland, he threatened similar action against Canada.
When a reporter asked him if he was thinking the same thing about “annexing and taking over Canada,” Trump replied: “No, economic power.”
“Canada and the United States would be really great,” he said. “You have to get rid of that artificially drawn line and take a look at what that would look like, and that would also be much better for national security.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded shortly after Trump’s threat, writing on social media there:Not a snowball’s chance in hell That Canada will become part of the United States.
He added: “Workers and communities in our countries benefit from being each other’s largest trade and security partner.”
Trump has repeatedly stated that the United States “subsidizes” Canada to the tune of $200 billion in trade and spends billions of dollars more on continental defense programs like NORAD than Canada, which he said “basically has no military.”
“We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their wood,” he continued. “We don’t need anything they have. We don’t need their dairy products.
“We don’t need anything. Why should we lose $200 billion a year and more to protect Canada?”
—With files from Sean Boynton of Global News and the Associated Press
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