Greenlanders prefer contact with Denmark because it is a welfare state unlike the United States.
The next president-elect of the United States Donald Trump has presented quite strong views that Greenland should be annexed to the United States.
Ylen’s Nordic correspondent Jenny Matikainen has traveled to Greenland’s capital, Nuuk, to find out about the Greenlanders’ own thoughts regarding Trump’s speeches.
In the early stages of his trip, Matikainen has not heard any strongly pro-Trump positions from the locals.
– It seems that people don’t take Donald Trump’s speeches very seriously, and at least don’t believe that Trump could get what he wants, i.e. Greenland, Matikainen told in his live segment seen on TV news at 20:30.
According to Matikainen, the question of joining the United States mostly makes Greenlanders roll their eyes in wonder and sigh deeply.
– I also asked a few people if they would like to be American citizens, that is, that Greenland would be part of the United States. Nobody said yes today.
– One reason was that Denmark, to which Greenland now belongs, is a welfare state and the United States is not. There is free health care here, Matikainen said. He added that some Trump and US fans have still been seen in Greenland.
In Greenland, the desire for the island’s independence has also come up in the discussion from time to time. The Greenlanders Matikainen met did not want Greenland to be independent, at least not yet.
– Many people thought the current situation was good. Although there are also negative feelings towards Denmark, it can be seen that the benefits from Denmark outweigh the disadvantages.