Trump Jr will visit Greenland after his father reiterated his desire for American ownership
Donald Trump Jr. plans to visit Greenland, two weeks after his father reiterated his desire for the US to take control of the island – an autonomous Danish territory.
The son of the newly elected US president plans to record video material for a podcast during a one-day private visit, US media reports.
Donald Trump sparked controversy again in December when he said that “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for US national security.
He previously expressed interest in purchasing Arctic territory during his first term as president. Trump was rejected by the leaders of Greenland on both occasions.
“We are not for sale and we will not be for sale,” the island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said in December. “Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland.”
Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe, which makes it strategically important for the US. It is also home to a large American space facility.
The president-elect’s eldest son played a key role during the 2024 US election campaign, often appearing at rallies and in the media.
But he will not travel to Greenland on behalf of his father’s future administration, according to the Danish foreign ministry.
“We have noted the planned visit of Donald Trump Jr. to Greenland. As it is not an official US visit, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no further comment on the visit,” the ministry told BBC News.
A few hours after the latest intervention by President-elect Trump, the Danish government announced a huge increase in the allocation for the defense of Greenland. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described the timing of the announcement as an “irony of fate”.
On Monday, Denmark’s King Frederik X changed the royal coat of arms to show Greenland and the Faroe Islands more prominently.
Some saw this as a rebuke to Trump, but it could also prove controversial with the Greenlandic separatist movement.
King Frederik used his New Year’s address to say that the Kingdom of Denmark is united “all the way to Greenland”, adding “we belong together”.
But Greenland’s prime minister used his New Year’s speech to push for independence from Denmark, saying the island must free itself from the “shackles of colonialism”.
Trump is not the first US president to propose buying Greenland. The idea was first floated by the country’s 17th president, Andrew Johnson, during the 1860s.
Separated in recent weeks, Trump is threatened to re-establish control of the Panama Canalone of the world’s most important waterways. He accused Panama of charging exorbitant fees to access it.
The Panamanian president responded by saying that “every square meter” of the canal and the surrounding area belongs to his country.
