In his first term, Donald Trump had a brief but passionate obsession with buying Greenland, which is the largest island in the world and is by no means up for sale by its governing state, the Kingdom of Denmark. Despite his own jokes about the purchase — including a tweet of a Trump-branded hotel Photoshopped into a village in Greenland — he appeared to be serious, citing its geopolitical importance and its vast mineral and oil reserves in conversations with advisers. Eventually, other priorities (the first impeachment, the novel coronavirus) drew him away from this expansionist plot.
But now that he is less than a month away from his second presidency, Trump wants to bring it back. In a Truth Social post late on Sunday that was ostensibly about the nomination of Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark, Trump revisited the idea.
“For 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,” Trump wrote. “Ken will do a wonderful job in representing the interests of the United States.”
Trump has been on a tear recently frustrating allies with promises to violate their sovereignty. On Saturday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Panama was charging “exorbitant” and “ridiculous” fees for American ships to pass through its canal. If the situation does not improve, he threatened to “demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us, in full, and without question.” A few days before, he reportedly joked to Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau that he would annex our northern neighbor as the 51st state. As for Mexico, his advisers are reportedly planning some sort of intrusion to take on cartel violence. “How much should we invade Mexico?” a Trump transition member told Rolling Stone last month. “That is the question.”
Can Trump buy Greenland? Not according to its prime minister, Mute Egede. “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede wrote in a statement. But if Trump wants to visit, it does have a brand-new international airport.
