By Denmark has found itself facing a significant diplomatic challenge after a contentious phone call between Donald Trump and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen regarding Greenland. During the 45-minute conversation, Trump expressed a strong desire for Greenland to come under U.S. control, an idea Denmark firmly opposes.
Greenland, an autonomous territory under Danish rule since 1814, has gained strategic importance due to its Arctic location. Trump has emphasized that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority, citing increased activity in the region by Russia and China. However, Frederiksen rejected the proposal, underscoring that Greenland is not for sale and that its 57,000 residents should have the right to decide their future, according to The Guardian.
The Financial Times reports that according to five current and former senior European officials who were briefed on the call, the conversation “was horrendous”. One person said: “He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious and potentially very dangerous.”
Another person who was briefed on the call told the outlet: “The intent was very clear. They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode.” Someone else said: “The Danes are utterly freaked out by this.”
According to one former Danish official, the call was a “very tough conversation” in which Trump “threatened specific measures against Denmark such as targeted tariffs”.
Trump has previously said that the US needs to control Greenland and has refused to rule out using US military force to take over the territory. During a press conference a few weeks ago, Trump said that the US needed Greenland “for economic security”. The 836,300-sq-mile (2,166,007-sq-km) Arctic island is rich in oil and gas, as well as various raw materials for green technology.
The controversy deepened when Trump posted a digitally altered image on social media depicting Trump Tower on Greenland, accompanied by a caption promising not to pursue such construction. Simultaneously, Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland privately, meeting with locals and prompting further speculation about U.S. intentions.
I promise not to do this to Greenland! pic.twitter.com/03DdyVU6HA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
Greenland is not for sale, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen stated on Tuesday, responding to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s interest in purchasing the vast Arctic island, noted Politico.
Frederiksen said Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede “has been very, very clear … that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either.”
Trump has major support in Congress for the move from members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. On his podcast, Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he supported the national security argument for acquiring Greenland. Its location would expand Ameican control over the Arctic Circle, an area that could be a critical trading route as global temperatures rise and a potential conflict zone with Russia or China.
Greenland also has plentiful natural reserves of critical rare-earth minerals necessary for clean energy technology and electronics.
“The United States acquiring Greenland is a very, very good idea,” Cruz said. “To be clear, Trump talked about this his first term in office and at the time, a lot of people, particularly the media, dismissed it. They said, oh it’s Trump talking. It’s just some crazy idea. But I’ll tell you acquiring Greenland has enormous advantages to the United States.”
“We bought Alaska, and it was dismissed at the time as Seward’s Folly,” Cruz said, referring to then-Secretary of State William Seward.
Cruz is not the only senator who has expressed openness to buying Greenland. John Fetterman, a Democrat, compared the idea to the Louisiana Purchase, saying it’s an idea worth hearing out.
“There’s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example, and there’s a lot of freak-outs and of course I would never support taking it by force, but I do think it’s a responsible conversation,” Fetterman said in a Tuesday interview with Fox News. “If they were open to acquiring it — whether just buying it outright — I mean if anyone thinks that’s bonkers it’s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase?”
Denmark now faces a delicate balancing act: maintaining its alliance with America, protecting Greenland’s sovereignty, and ensuring stability in the Arctic. The unfolding diplomatic tension highlights the complexities of geopolitics in a rapidly changing region.
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