The expert: There is a broad desire for independence • Donald Trump Jr. visits the island
Already during Donald Trump’s first term as president, he had his sights set on Greenland. In 2019, he stated that he wanted to buy the island, something that Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed as “absurd”. It resulted in Trump canceling a state visit to Denmark.
Now Trump has his sights set on Greenland again. In a statement on Truth Social, Trump said that his son, Donald Trump Jr., is traveling to Greenland and that the people there will “benefit enormously if and when it becomes part of our nation.” At a press conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Frederiksen commented on the events and pointed out clearly that Greenland is not for sale.
– I want to urge everyone to respect the Greenlanders as a people, it is their country we are talking about, says Frederiksen.
The expert: The government secures Greenland’s stance
The Danish government’s response was delayed, which was also criticized by the opposition. Unlike in 2019, the security situation today looks different and Søby Kristensen believes that it is even more important today for Denmark to show that it is an important partner to the US and takes responsibility within NATO. At the same time, he describes how the relationship between Denmark and Greenland is at a low point right now.
The Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede recently stated that Greenland should take new steps towards independence.
– I think that the Danish government is relatively certain that Greenland’s stance towards the US will be the same as last time, that Greenland is open for business, but not for sale, says Kristian Søby Kristensen.
Want more independence – but not to become part of the United States
His view is that there is no desire in either the Greenlandic parliament or the public to formally integrate with the United States, instead they hope for greater independence.
– I think there is a broad desire within the Greenlandic people to become more independent, if not completely independent from Denmark, says Søby Kristensen.
The US already has a strong military presence on the strategically important island. At the same time, Greenland’s foreign, defense and security policy is governed from Copenhagen according to the constitution.
– But in reality, especially Greenland but also the Faroe Islands have taken more and more responsibility in these matters and become more integrated in the decision-making process, says Søby Kristensen and adds:
– It is a slow development where Greenland is moving towards becoming more and more independent.
Is already open for Trump to do business
Søby Kristensen also questions why Trump would want to buy the island, as they already have a massive military presence, but points out that there are also large natural resources on the island.
– The natural resources found in Greenland are a Greenlandic matter, says Søby Kristensen
In order to extract these resources, Greenland has tried to attract investment from abroad, something the United States could also have used.
– If Donald Trump or Elon Musk want these resources to be extracted by the US, Greenland is already open for doing business, says Søby Kristensen.