We are continuing to watch the developments related to Greenland, which have gotten especially interesting after President-elect Donald Trump tasked his pick for Ambassador to Denmark with persuading the Danes to sell us the resource-rich Arctic land.
Shortly after that announcement, Greenland suffered a major power outage due to a downed transmission line. The blackout plunged the region into darkness as temperatures dropped below -27 degrees Fahrenheit (-33°C).
This was soon followed by Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede calling for independence from Denmark, marking a significant shift in the rhetoric surrounding the Arctic island’s future.
Trump’s son later went on an “unofficial” visit to Greenland. At that time, I speculated that persuading the people of Greenland to become an independent territory of the United States might be the best deal that could be placed on the table.
Intriguingly, Egede recently had a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during which he said that he’s ready to speak with Trump as ‘the status quo is no longer an option‘.
…Egede said that “the status quo is not an option” as he laid out the desire of the vast and geopolitically crucial island of 57,000 to have “its own voice” by gaining independence from Denmark and turning down Trump’s attempts to buy Greenland.“We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American, we want to be Greenlandic,” he told a news conference on Friday. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the same meeting that Greenland’s desire for independence was “legitimate and understandable”, while calling US interest in the autonomous territory “positive”.
During the conference, Egede also noted he was ‘ready to talk to Trump’.
Reports indicate that Denmark sent private messages recently to Trump’s team expressing willingness to discuss enhancing security in Greenland or increasing the U.S. military presence on the island.
Behind the scenes: The sources said the Danish government wants to avoid a public clash with the new U.S. administration, and asked members of the Trump team for clarification regarding what exactly the president-elect meant in his comments earlier this week.
- In the messages passed to the Trump team, the Danish government made clear Greenland was not for sale but expressed readiness to discuss any other U.S. request regarding the island, the sources said.
- The U.S. already has a military base on Greenland and an agreement with Denmark dating to 1951 on defending the island, under which an increase of U.S. forces could easily be discussed.
- Danish officials have already said they are looking into further measures to increase investment in military infrastructure and capabilities in Greenland, in consultation with the Greenlandic government.
Now, the “great minds” of the current administration indicate there is no way for a new relationship with Greenland to arise.
However, it is very clear the Greenlanders are unhappy with their current relationship with Denmark and their lack of independence. When Trump talked about Greenland in 2019, a poll was taken showing a vast majority (67.8% of Greenlanders) supported independence from Denmark sometime in the next two decades.
It appears that fervor has not lessened with time.
At a recent Friday night kaffemik — a traditional, coffee-fueled gathering — Jørgen Boassen reclined at the end of a long table covered in bits of leftover whale skin and cake, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “American Badass” and the famous image of a bloodied Donald Trump raising his fist in the air.Such brazen pro-Trump displays have made Boassen conspicuous — and famous — here in Greenland, an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. But the 50-year-old bricklayer insists that as the island’s inhabitants strive for full independence from their old colonial patrons, there is more support for the incoming American president here than meets the eye.“Many want to use him to liberate us from Denmark,” he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
Egede’s statement very much suggests that Greenland is open to exploring new partnerships and economic opportunities while maintaining its cultural identity and pursuing greater autonomy. This stance indicates a willingness to reassess Greenland’s current relationships and consider alternative arrangements that could benefit its people and economy.
And, as I noted in my previous post, there are a lot of economic and political wins for Greenland as an independent American territory.
Bonus: It would offer our country a chance to enhance our Arctic defense as we upgrade our military once Trump’s defense team is in place.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY