Trump reiterates he wants to buy Greenland for US security

Sanne Wass, Bloomberg News on Dec 23, 2024

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Donald Trump hinted he still wants to buy Greenland, a self-ruling territory of Denmark, saying that U.S. ownership and control of the island is an “absolute necessity” for national security.

The U.S. President-elect reopened a debate from 2019, when he offered to buy what is the world’s biggest island, a proposal that was quickly rebuffed by Denmark at the time.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World,” Trump said on Truth Social Sunday, “the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Greenland is already crucial to American national defense, being home to a U.S. air base and a radar station. The war in Ukraine has dramatically increased the territory’s military value to the US and NATO, given the island’s strategic location between the Arctic and the North Atlantic.

Trump made the statement on Sunday as he nominated PayPal co-founder Ken Howery for U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark. Howery responded on X saying he would work to “deepen the bonds” between the U.S., Denmark and Greenland. Howery was an ambassador to Sweden from 2019 to 2021, under Trump’s first administration.

Commenting on Trump’s post, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede said by email that the island is “not for sale and will never be for sale.” However, he said Greenland must continue to be open to cooperation and trade directly with other countries, especially its neighbors.

The autonomous authority published a blueprint for its foreign, security and defense policy earlier this year, in which it outlined hopes to forge closer links with North America through trade in critical minerals and by having a bigger say in key defense relationships that have historically been governed by Denmark.

Trump’s proposal to buy Greenland in 2019 triggered tensions between the U.S. and Denmark, with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen describing it as “absurd,” making it clear Greenland was not for sale. The Danish government didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s more recent statement.

The renewed interest in Greenland comes as Trump on Sunday threatened to retake control over the Panama Canal and earlier in the week suggested Canada could become the U.S.’s 51st state.

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With assistance from Kari Lundgren.