“We need Greenland”: Denmark is shocked by Trump’s threats, but reacts cautiously

Denmark was shocked in the last day to find itself in a head-on confrontation with the president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, who last night threatened to impose “protective tariffs” in order to make it transfer Greenland to American control, and even refused to rule out the use of military means to make this happen. “We We need Greenland to maintain the security of the free world… it has to happen,” Trump said at a press conference that sent ripples across Europe. Even if the risk of a military conflict seems low now, Trump’s statements undermine the delicate relationship between the independent territory and the central government in Copenhagen.

Trump’s words also sparked movements in the foreign exchange market, with the dollar strengthening even more against the common European currency and the Danish krone, at a rate of 0.5% as of lunchtime. The euro is now worth only $1.029, approaching parity, amid the threat of protective tariffs and a trade war.

strategic area

Yesterday, the media in the country covered around the clock the visit of Trump’s son, Donald Jr., to Greenland, even before the president-elect dropped the bilateral bomb. Images of the American plane, with “Trump” written in large letters on it, landing in the island’s capital, were broadcast live in the media, and so was the reception the American delegation received. Donland Jr. regularly posted tweets from the visit, which included some photos at select sites and lunch.

Trump proposed the idea of ​​”buying Greenland” as early as 2019, during his first term, and was quickly rejected by Denmark, which has sovereignty as well as responsibility for the foreign policy and security of the Arctic territory. At the time, Prime Minister Meda Frederiksen described the proposal as “absurd,” and immediately faced an angry response from Trump, who canceled a planned visit to the kingdom.

This time Fredriksen used much softer words. “My starting point and that of the Danish government is that the future of Greenland will be decided by the Greenlanders,” she said. However, she made it clear that she supports a “united Denmark”, meaning that the Faroe Islands and Greenland will be part of the Danish kingdom. Despite intra-Danish pressure to clarify to Trump what she – and most Danes – think, Fredriksen spoke softly about the need to determine Greenland’s future “with respect”, and that she “welcomes the American interest in what is happening in the North Atlantic”. Only 28% of Danes believe that Greenland should be independent, and the rates of support for its joining the US are apparently much lower.

It is hard not to understand Trump’s attraction to Greenland. This is a huge territory, more than two million square kilometers, in a strategic location, which due to climate change is becoming more and more accessible. The island, which is about the size of Western Europe, is mostly covered by a three-kilometer-high ice cap, one of the last remnants of the last ice age 150,000 years ago. This dome is melting, revealing land that was previously inaccessible. Diamond and rare metal miners, oil, coal and also pharmaceutical companies, are looking for what is hidden under the ice.

Even on the shores of the largest island in the world there are apparently gas and oil fields. As the sea no longer freezes in winter, the ports of South Greenland become accessible all year round. It is also a strategic area that dominates all traffic through the Arctic regions. The US currently operates a virgin air base, on the northern tip of Greenland, only 1,500 kilometers from the North Pole.

Greenland as a whole is very sparsely inhabited, by about 50 thousand people. This is the local population of the island, mostly Inuit who apparently came to it from Asia. Danish settlers poured into the island as early as the 14th century, followed by Protestant missionaries. Mixed marriages made the island’s population diverse, and Danish surnames were adopted by the majority of the population. Greenland has an independent and autonomous government, but all security and diplomatic issues are decided in Copenhagen. The island is represented in the Danish parliament. The population suffers from social problems such as alcoholism, a higher than normal rate of sexual assaults within the family and more.

In recent years, for the same reasons Trump mentioned, the Chinese have put Greenland on the map, and among other things with the help of the common Asian origin (the language most similar to Greenlandic is spoken in South Korea, according to studies) are wooing the independent government in Nok. They promise infrastructure projects, huge investments, modernization of the ports and airports and more.

Greenland will ask for independence?

The question of Greenland’s independence has been on the table for years. Denmark, which is trying to shake off its colonial past, which included erasing the Inuit culture, separating girls and boys from their parents and forcing birth control measures on Inuit women, said in the past that it would respect such a decision, but as stated is interested in maintaining sovereignty over the island. Greenland itself is hesitant because it is still dependent on a “grant” – more than half a billion dollars transferred annually as support to the island, on which the autonomy services for the residents rely, and which enable a relatively high standard of living in the country.

The global and American interest may change the mindset among the Greenlanders, one way or the other. There is a lot of anger over the way Denmark treated the island in the past, and a symbolic desire to apologize for past affairs, but it is not certain that the majority wants to “risk” independence, or as Trump hopes – to decide to join the US. Denmark has already carried out several significant projects in recent years – renewal The airports (there are no paved roads between most settlements in Greenland) and their expansion – in the shadow of the Greenlandic threat “to replace sides” towards China. Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen took the trouble to pay an official visit to Knock two years ago, accompanied by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to show respect for the territory.

And in a symbolic move, the Danish royal house, headed by King Frederik X, also launched its official symbol this week to pay respect to Greenland. Instead of pushing the polar bear (symbol of the territory) and the sheep (symbol of the Faroe Islands which also belong to the Danish kingdom) into a corner, as had been the case since 1972, the two animals were given a place of honor on the Danish shield. The king is considered a Greenland enthusiast and is proud of the fact that he crossed the ice cap using only dog ​​sleds during his military service.

 

The new Danish king makes it clear to Trump and his son what he thinks about the future of Greenland. Today the new aristocracy sign was launched (right), where the polar bear (symbol of Greenland) and the sheep (symbol of the Faroe Islands) were “upgraded” to a more prominent status. The king is a Greenland enthusiast who crossed the ice cap with sleds and dogs in his military service. pic.twitter.com/IKD7a9HHbg

– Assaf Uni, Berlin (@AssafUni) January 7, 2025

Now, every step of the parties receives attention that until now was not given to this corner of the world. The Prime Minister of Greenland, Mota Borup Agda, canceled a planned visit to Copenhagen that was supposed to take place on Wednesday, but after Trump’s words it was made clear that he would make the visit, and meet personally with King Frederik. The media in Denmark estimated that if Agda decides to go in the direction of a referendum on independence, this will be done after the elections in the territory scheduled for April. “We take Trump’s words seriously,” Agada said.

In Denmark, meanwhile, they are trying to figure out how to deal with the threats. Until now, Copenhagen has been one of the most important US partners in NATO (Denmark does not hesitate to send troops to relevant conflicts), as well as a key destination for the transfer of forces to the Baltic states in the event of a conflict with Russia. “There is no precedent for Trump’s threats,” a Danish expert told the Politican newspaper yesterday. France, for its part, which regularly rushes to publish statements regarding the defense of Europe, said that “the European Union will take care to protect its borders” in the event of a military attack.