Greenland’s leader-elect says the island is not for sale after President-elect Donald Trump said the territory was an “absolute necessity” for the United States.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” the autonomous territory’s Prime Minister Múte Egede said in a written comment, according to Reuters.
Newsweek has reached out to the Trump-Vance transition for comment.
Greenland is strategically vital to the U. S. military and its ballistic missile early warning formula because the island lies in the shortest direction between Europe and North America.
It also comes at a time when Trump has signaled a strong “America First” approach to trade and foreign policy for his second term, pushing for rebalanced deals on U.S. foreign financial commitments.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “For the purposes of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that ownership of Greenland is an absolute necessity. “
He did this while announcing that PayPal co-founder Ken Howery would be his choice as US ambassador to Denmark, of which Greenland is a self-governing territory.
This is the first time Trump has raised the concept of purchasing Greenland, which is home to a giant US Air Force base.
In 2019, he made the same suggestion during his first term, which drew many complaints from Danish and Greenlandic politicians.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected the idea at the time, calling it “absurd. “
Trump later called Frederiksen a “villain” and canceled a state from the country.
The United States has already asked for the acquisition of Greenland. In 1867, a State Department indicated that the island’s geographic location and herbal resources would make it an ideal acquisition.
President Harry Truman proposed purchasing Greenland from Denmark in 1946 for $100 million in gold.
In the 1970s, Vice President Nelson Rockefeller also bought Greenland for its mineral resources, according to the Washington Post.
Trump’s push for rebalanced deals on U.S. foreign financial commitments has most recently included threatening to demand the return of the Panama Canal from the Central American country if it fails to reduce the fees and tariffs it imposes on American ships.
Rasmus Jarlov, of the Danish opposition Conservative Party, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “The Danish government must state in clear terms that control over Greenland is not up for discussion or negotiation.
“To the extent that US activities aim to seize Danish territory, they will have to be prohibited and countered. So they can’t be there at all.
Donald Trump wrote in Truth Social: “As co-founder of PayPal and Founders Fund, Ken has turned American leadership in innovation and generation into stories of global good fortune, and this experience will be invaluable in representing us abroad. When it comes to security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that Greenland ownership and ownership is an absolute necessity. “
Ken Howery wrote in Array. I look forward to appearing together with those engaged at the U. S. Embassy in Copenhagen and the U. S. Consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, to deepen ties between our countries.
The Republicans Against Trump organization posted on Trump isn’t even in office yet, and we’re already adjusting to America’s smiling inventory. world. “
Trump has to respond to Egede’s disdain for his comments.
Prime Minister Frederiksen has also not yet responded to Trump’s statement.
Jordan King is a Newsweek reporter founded in London, UK. It focuses on human interest stories in Africa and the Middle East. She has extensively covered the civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, police brutality and poverty in South Africa, and gender issues. founded violence around the world. Jordan joined Newsweek in 2024 from The Evening Standard and has previously worked at Metro. co. uk. She graduated from Kingston University and also worked in documentaries. Jordan can be reached by sending an email electrónico. j. king@newsweek. com. Languages: English.