Donald Trump Jr, son of US President-elect, Donald Trump has landed in Greenland.
The visit takes place against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Greenland and Denmark as the Trump administration prepares to take office.
Greenland is a former Danish colony and remains part of the kingdom of Denmark, which continues to control its foreign and security policy.
As well as its supply of multiple in-demand raw materials for green technology – including 25 of the 34 that the EU needs – amid melting Arctic ice and strategically positioned between the US and Russia, Greenland is viewed as increasingly important for defence and emerging as an international geopolitical battleground.
After arriving in the Greenlandic capital in a Trump-branded plane, he told a waiting crowd in the Nuuk airport arrivals hall that he was very excited to be there.
According to him, it was a little colder there than it is in Florida, adding that the US President-elect “says hello to everyone in Greenland.”
Asked about his plans, he stated that he was visiting as a tourist, had no plans to meet politicians and declined to talk about US interest in Greenland, saying he was merely there to “see a lot of the sights, talk to some people and have a good time.”
Others in his group include the political activist Charlie Kirk, who cofounded the pro-Trump conservative organisation Turning Point USA.
The Greenlandic government said that no meetings had been scheduled with government representatives. The Danish and Greenlandic governments have both said that it is a private visit.
Mininnguaq Kleist, Greenland’s Minister of independence and foreign affairs, told a news agency, “We have not been briefed on the nature of his programme, and therefore this is a private visit.”
He added that Trump Jr was expected to stay for about four to five hours.
Trump Jr landed in Nuuk hours after his father reiterated his interest in taking control of the Arctic autonomous territory
Trump, who takes office on January 20, 2025, stated that his son and various representatives were going to visit “some of the most magnificent areas and sights.”
On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised the island and promised to “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 expressed interest in buying Greenland during his 2017-2021 term but was publicly rebuffed by Greenlandic and Danish authorities before any conversations could take place.
Greenland Not For Sale
As such, it wasn’t surprising that his son’s arrival in the capital, Nuuk, prompted the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, to break her silence to say the autonomous territory was “not for sale.” “Seen through the eyes of the Danish government, Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” the Social Democrat told a news agency.
Describing the US as “our absolute closest ally,” she said, “we always want to work more closely with the Americans.”
However, she called on “everyone to respect that Greenlanders are a people, a population,” adding, “Only they can define their future.”
Separately, Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, noted that the idea of a US takeover should be firmly rejected. “I don’t want to be a pawn in Trump’s hot dreams of expanding his empire to include our country,” she said.
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with a population of just 57,000, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. But development has been slow, leaving its economy reliant on fishing and annual subsidies from Denmark.
The capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than to the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
READ ALSO: Trudeau Chooses To Jump Before Being Pushed
