Washington DC -The elected President of the United States (US), Donald Trump, has once again caused a stir worldwide. After threatening to take over the Panama Canal, Trump now wants to take control of Greenland, which is a territory of Denmark.
Quoted by CNN, NBC News, and Reuters on Tuesday (12/24/2024), Trump said Greenland is important to the US. He said the US needs ownership and control over Greenland for security reasons.
Trump made this statement on Sunday (22/12) when he announced Ken Howery, former envoy to Sweden, as his ambassador to Denmark. He also commented on the status of Greenland, which is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark and hosts a large U.S. Air Force base.
“For the purposes of National Security and Freedom around the World, the United States feels that ownership and control over Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump’s statement was immediately met with rejection from Greenland’s leaders. The Prime Minister of the island, Mute Egede, said Greenland is not for sale.
“Greenland is ours.” We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” he said.
Trump had proposed the purchase of Greenland during his first term as president on several occasions. He told reporters in 2019 about the island, “Strategically, it’s interesting, and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit.”
“First of all, we have to find out whether they are interested or not.” They lost a lot of money, so let’s see what happens,” said Trump in 2019.
On several occasions, Trump has been seen considering the expansion of US territory, which, if he is serious, would rival the Louisiana Purchase or the deal that snagged Alaska from Russia. In the past week, he mocked Canadian officials by suggesting the US could absorb its northern neighbor and make it the 51st state.
He also threatened to take over the Panama Canal, a man-made waterway controlled by the US for a quarter of a century by Panama. And on Sunday, he reiterated his desire during his first term to take control of Greenland.
With Trump, the difference between serious policy proposals and rhetoric to grab media attention or energize his base is not very clear. At other times, his provocations seem to be opening salvos in his efforts to make deals.
