By President Donald Trump has revived his controversial push for U.S. control over Greenland, arguing the Arctic territory is vital to both national and global security. The renewed interest coincides with Vice President JD Vance’s upcoming — and uninvited — visit to the Danish autonomous region later this week.
During an appearance on a conservative radio program Wednesday, Trump asserted that acquiring Greenland is now a strategic necessity. “We need it. We have to have it,” he told host Vince Coglianese, emphasizing the island’s increasing importance in Arctic shipping and its military potential. “From a defensive — and even offensive — standpoint, it’s an island we need. You’ve got ships passing its shores by the hundreds. It’s a busy place,” according to Politico.
Although Trump floated the idea of purchasing Greenland during his first term, his interest has intensified recently. U.S. officials see significant value in the island’s untapped resources, including rare earth minerals and energy reserves, as well as its control over key Arctic maritime routes. Trump also suggested that efforts should begin to persuade Greenlanders of the benefits of U.S. citizenship — a statement likely to further strain relations with Denmark.
Vice President Vance’s planned visit has already sparked backlash from Danish and Greenlandic leaders. Originally, the vice president and Second Lady Usha Vance were set to attend a cultural dog-sled race. However, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized the trip as exerting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland to align with U.S. interests.
“This visit clearly does not reflect Greenland’s needs or desires,” Frederiksen said Monday. “It represents undue pressure on both Greenland and Denmark — pressure that we are prepared to resist.”
In response to the criticism, Vance revised his itinerary and will now tour a U.S. military base instead. Despite the adjustment, the visit marks the highest-level U.S. presence in Greenland amid Trump’s renewed push for territorial influence.
Danish officials have cautiously welcomed the change. “Visiting the military base is a far wiser move than becoming involved in Greenland’s political affairs — especially when no government is currently in place,” said Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
Trump’s rhetoric and the upcoming visit by Vance have reignited debate about the future of Arctic diplomacy and Greenland’s autonomy. As global powers increasingly turn their attention northward, the island finds itself at the center of a broader geopolitical struggle.
Trump isn’t wrong to think that Greenland could be vital to the future of the United States, wrote The New York Times. “Most of Greenland lies within the Arctic Circle, a region that the world’s powers are vying for over for its untapped natural resources and its proximity to emerging shipping corridors that would accelerate global trade. Already, melting Arctic ice has transformed the region that was once largely unnavigable into an area of competitive commerce, as more ships traverse the Arctic Circle and countries with land in the region scramble to lay claim to as much of the seabed as possible.
Routes between Asia and Europe, or Asia and the United States, are about 40 percent shorter through the Arctic than either the Suez or Panama Canals, according to the U.S. Naval Institute. That makes the question of who controls the seas there critical for both financial and security purposes, especially given the claimants also happen to be rival geopolitical superpowers.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic holds 13 percent of undiscovered oil resources and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas, most of it offshore. Controlling Greenland would give the United States an expanded claim to those seabed resources.
But Greenland also uniquely boasts huge stores of rare earth minerals that are vital to the production of batteries, cellphones, electric vehicles and other technology — and the Trump administration has been looking globally to augment its rare earth mineral holdings.”
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