The eldest son of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Greenland on Tuesday for a private visit that heightened speculation that the incoming U.S. administration could seek to take control of the mineral-rich Danish territory.
The Danish state broadcaster reported that Donald Trump Jr.’s plane landed in Nuuk, capital of the vast and icy territory that has some 57,000 residents. Local media broadcast footage of him walking across a snowy tarmac.
In a statement, Greenland’s government said that Trump Jr.’s visit would take place “as a private individual” and not as an official visit and that Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him. Greenland is an autonomous territory that’s part of Denmark.
Mininguaq Kleist, permanent secretary for the Greenland Foreign Affairs department, told The Associated Press that authorities were informed that Trump Jr. would stay for about four to five hours.
Neither Trump Jr.’s delegation nor Greenlandic government officials had requested a meeting, Kleist said.
The visit nonetheless had political overtones.
The president-elect recently voiced a desire — also expressed during his first presidency — to acquire the territory in the Arctic, an area of strategic importance for the United States, China, Russia and others.
The world’s largest island, Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and is home to a large U.S. military base. It is 80% covered by an ice sheet.
“I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr., and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,” the president-elect posted on his social media site Monday night, referring to his “Make America Great Again” slogan.
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” Trump wrote. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside world. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for independence from Denmark, saying in a New Year’s speech that it would be a way for Greenland to free itself from its colonial past. But Egede has also said he has no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States, insisting that the island is not for sale.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that the future of Greenland would be decided by Greenland and called the United States Denmark’s most important ally.
Denmark’s King Frederik X has been asserting the kingdom’s rights to Greenland as well as the Faroe Islands, a self-governing archipelago located between Iceland and Norway in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Last month, the king changed Denmark’s coat of arms to include fields that represent Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Greenland is represented by a silver bear with a red tongue. The royal announcement noted that since 1194, the royal coat of arms “visually symbolized the legitimacy and sovereignty of the state and the monarch.”
“We are all united and each of us committed for the Kingdom of Denmark,” the king said in his New Year’s address, adding: “all the way to Greenland.”
During his first term, the U.S. president-elect mused about purchasing Greenland, which gained home rule from Denmark in 1979. He canceled a scheduled trip to Denmark in August 2019 after its prime minister dismissed the idea.
Reviving the issue in a statement last month as he announced his pick for U.S. ambassador to Denmark, Trump wrote: “For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Trump’s eldest son has become a prominent player in his father’s political movement and has served on his presidential transition team, helping to select the people who will staff the incoming White House.
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