Understand why Trump wants to annex Greenland so much

On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. landed in Greenland, the Arctic island that his father, President-elect Donald Trump, has expressed a strong desire to buy, despite Greenland’s harsh statements that it is not for sale.

Trump Jr. described the trip as “a little bit of fun,” telling CNN : “as an outdoorsman, I’m excited to stop by Greenland this week.”

But the trip has fueled speculation about what exactly his father’s plans are for this Arctic territory.

In December, Trump revived calls made during his first presidency for US ownership of Greenland, calling it “an absolute necessity.” Asked at a press conference on Tuesday (7) whether he would rule out using “military or economic coercion” to gain Greenland — or Panama, which Trump has also expressed a desire to possess — the president-elect responded: “No, no. I can guarantee neither, but I can say this: we need them for economic security.”

The president-elect says owning Greenland is vital to U.S. security, but experts say he may also have his eye on other aspects of Greenland, such as its treasure trove of natural resources — including rare earth metals — that could become more accessible as climate change melts the territory’s ice.

A unique geopolitical position

Greenland is the largest island in the world and home to more than 56,000 people. A former Danish colony and now an autonomous territory of Denmark, it occupies a unique geopolitical position, situated between the US and Europe. Its capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.

It has long been seen as essential to U.S. security, especially to repel a potential attack from Russia, said Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute of International Studies. The Northwest Passage shipping route runs along its coast and the island is part of the Greenland-Iceland-United Kingdom gap, a strategic maritime region.

Trump is not the first US president to float the idea of ​​buying Greenland. In 1867, when President Andrew Johnson purchased Alaska, he also considered purchasing Greenland. At the end of World War II, the Truman administration offered Denmark $100 million for the island, according to documents first reported by Danish media.

Neither offer materialized, but under a 1951 defense treaty, the U.S. obtained an air base now called Pituffik Space Base in northwest Greenland. Halfway between Moscow and New York, it is the northernmost outpost of the US military and is equipped with a missile warning system.

The US is interested in ensuring that “no hostile great power controls Greenland because it can be a foothold to attack the US,” Pram Gad told CNN .

Territory rich in rare minerals

What may be even more attractive to Trump, however, is Greenland’s rich deposits of natural resources, said Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London.

This includes oil and gas, as well as rare earth metals, which are highly sought after for electric cars and wind turbines in the green transition and for the manufacture of military equipment.

China currently dominates global rare earth production and has already threatened to restrict the export of key minerals and associated technologies before Trump’s second term.

“There is no doubt whatsoever that Trump and his advisors are very concerned about the dominance that China appears to have,” Dodds toldCNN . Greenland offers a potentially rich source of these essential minerals, he added. “I think Greenland really wants to keep China out.”

Opportunities as the ice melts

Melting ice and rapidly rising Arctic temperatures are giving Greenland a prominent place in the climate crisis, but some also see economic opportunities as climate change reshapes the country.

The loss of ice has opened up shipping lanes, increasing the amount of time they can be sailed during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Shipping in the Arctic increased 37% in the decade to 2024, according to the Arctic Council, in part due to melting ice.

“Trump, I think, instinctively has the idea that the Arctic is melting,” and the perceived opportunities, Dodds said. Although he warned, in reality conditions along these routes are still often treacherous, and melting ice could make the waters even more dangerous to navigate.

There is also a suggestion that melting ice could make natural resources easier to access, but the climate crisis has not yet proven to be a major “game changer” for this, said Phillip Steinberg, professor of geography at Durham University.

It’s not that climate change is making Greenland’s resources more accessible, he told CNN but rather “more necessary”.

Could this really happen?

The governments of Denmark and Greenland have come out strongly against the idea that the Arctic nation could be bought.

“We are not for sale and we will never be for sale. We must not lose our years-long fight for freedom,” wrote Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede in a Facebook post in late December.

Kuupik V. Kleist, former prime minister of Greenland, said Trump was speaking more to U.S. citizens than to Greenlanders. “I don’t see anything in the future that would pave the way for a sale. You don’t just buy a country or a people,” he told CNN .

But Trump’s comments come at an interesting time for Greenland, Dodds said. Its Inuit-led government has recently been increasing demands for independence from Denmark. In his New Year’s address, Egede called for the “shackles of the colonial era” to be removed.

“It’s sending Denmark into a panic,” said Dodds, who appears to be focusing more on his relationship with Greenland. In December, Denmark announced a major increase in military spending for Greenland. Then, in early January, the Danish royal family released a redesigned royal coat of arms, increasing the prominence of the polar bear symbolizing Greenland.

Greenland has sought to boost its independence by diversifying its economy beyond fishing. It opened a new airport in Nuuk in November as part of plans to boost tourism. But it still depends on an annual donation of approximately $500 million from Denmark, which has proven to be a major obstacle to independence.

This raises a very intriguing question, Dodds said. “What would Greenland do if Trump offered, say, $1 billion a year to have a different kind of membership?”

Some Greenlandic politicians have floated the idea of ​​a special association, similar to the one the US has with the Marshall Islands, where Greenland has sovereignty but also US financial support, in exchange for agreements on certain US strategic interests.

Former Prime Minister Kleist expressed strong skepticism that this type of association could work, however. “I also don’t think (it) is of interest. Think about how the US treated its own indigenous people.”

For now, it remains unclear how far Trump will pursue his stated desire to acquire Greenland once in office. “Nobody knows if it’s just bravado, if it’s a threat to get something else or if it’s really something he wants to do,” Pram Gad said.

This content was originally published in Understand why Trump wants to annex Greenland so much on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil