Trump Jr Arrives In Greenland Amid US Take Over Plan

Donald Trump Jr. has arrived in Greenland as his father reaffirmed his desire for the US to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.

Before arriving in the capital Nuuk, Trump Jr said he was going on a “personal day-trip” to talk to people, and had no meetings planned with government officials.

US President-elect Donald Trump recently revived a controversy he ignited last month when he said “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for US national security.

“We are not for sale,” the island’s prime minister said at the time. “Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland.” But Mute Egede also told Greenlanders to take their next step towards independence.

With a population of 57,000, Greenland has wide-ranging autonomy – but its economy is largely dependent on subsidies from Copenhagen and it remains part of the kingdom of Denmark.

During his first term as president, Donald Trump expressed an interest in buying the Arctic island. He was rebuffed then, as he has been now.

When asked about Trump Jr’s visit to Greenland, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish TV that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders” and that only the local population could determine their future.

She agreed that “Greenland is not for sale”, but stressed Denmark needed very close co-operation with the US, a close Nato ally.

Greenland’s prime minister had been due to meet King Frederik in Copenhagen on Wednesday, but the meeting was postponed because of what Egede referred to as “calendar gymnastics”.

Trump said Greenland “and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and peace!”
“Make Greenland great again!” he added.

Greenland lies on the shortest route from North America to Europe, making it strategically important for the US. It is also home to a large American space facility.

On Monday, King Frederik X changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature representations of Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

But Greenland’s prime minister used his own New Year’s speech to say that the island must break free from “the shackles of colonialism”.

Trump is not the first US president to suggest buying Greenland. The idea was first mooted by the country’s 17th president, Andrew Johnson, during the 1860s.

BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma