President-elect Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland, the world’s largest island, and is dispatching his son Trump Jr to assess the prospects in a one-day visit.
Trump confirmed his son’s trip on his Truth Social social media platform on Monday. He said Don Jr and “various representatives” would travel to Greenland “to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights”.
Trump: “Make Greenland great again!”
Trump added that Greenland and its people “will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation”. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world,” he said. “Make Greenland great again!”
Trump reignited controversy when he published a post on Truth Social in late December: “For the purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
He had previously expressed an interest in buying the Arctic island during his first term as president. Trump was rebuffed by Greenland’s leaders on both occasions.
Denmark officially colonized Greenland in the 18th century. Danish Vikings had previously landed in Greenland as early as the 10th century.
Greenland is still part of the Kingdom of Denmark, although they have some degree of self-governance with their own parliament and prime minister. When Trump initially floated the idea of buying Greenland in 2019, the Danish and Greenland governments immediately rejected the idea, saying that the island is not for sale. Trump was so enraged by the rejection that he canceled a previously planned state visit to Denmark.
Alaska offers a historical precedent
There is a historical precedent of buying a foreign territory with the US purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. The United States paid $7.2 million for Alaska. This was equivalent to approximately $130 million in today’s money adjusted for inflation. In the early 1800s, Russia settled Alaska.
The purchase of Alaska was approved by US President Andrew Johnson and executed by his Secretary of State, William Seward. The purchase was widely ridiculed by Johnson’s political opponents. They mockingly called Alaska Seward’s icebox, saying the Russians duped Johnson into paying a considerable sum of money for a desolate tundra with little economic value.
Alaska ended up being extremely valuable, with vast reserves of oil and other natural resources. But this was not known at the time of the acquisition. The situation with Greenland today is very different.
Denmark is not facing financial difficulties, and Greenland is not at risk of invasion. So they have no reason to sell. The Danish Prime Minister who rejected Trump’s proposal in 2019 is still in office today.
She is all but guaranteed to reject any similar proposal. The main industries in Greenland are fishing, tourism, and mining. Greenland has sizable deposits of certain gemstones, graphite, and other valuable minerals.
Despite its natural beauty, Greenland is a desolate place whose government requires massive subsidies to function.
Why does Donald Trump want to buy Greenland?
Thanks to climate change, the extent of Arctic sea ice has declined substantially over the past few decades. If current trends continue, it may soon be feasible for cargo ships to traverse the Northwest Passage, at least during some times of the year.
The Northwest Passage goes through Greenland’s territorial waters. This is the main reason why Trump wants Greenland.
Controlling Greenland helps to secure control of the Northwest Passage. With all that being said, there’s no reason to believe that the Greenlandic or Danish authorities would ever prevent U.S. cargo ships from traversing the Northwest Passage. The United States Space Force already operates a base in Greenland, thus securing influence in the region.
There are also potentially hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil and natural gas in the Arctic, which could theoretically become accessible as the sea ice melts.
Greenland is believed to have vast reserves of rare earth minerals, which are critical for modern technologies, including electronics, renewable energy, and defense systems. These resources are currently underdeveloped but could be valuable as global demand increases.
But this is largely speculative, as the current ice conditions prevent detailed geological studies.
The US already maintains a military base in Greenland at Thule Air Base, which is part of the country’s missile warning and space surveillance systems. Acquiring Greenland could enhance the it’s defense infrastructure in the Arctic, a region of increasing geopolitical competition among the US, Russia, and China.