As Donald Trump keep talking about take control of Greenlandhis eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.visited the Danish autonomous territory on Tuesday – but Greenlandic and Danish officials made it clear they wanted nothing to do with what the Trumps are proposing.
“Don Jr. and my representatives are landing in Greenland,” Trump wrote Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. “The reception was wonderful. They and the free world need safety, security, strength and PEACE! This is a deal that needs to be made. MAGA. LET’S MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN! »
Message from Donald Trump on Truth Social, announcing the arrival of his son in Greenland.
Donald Trump / Social Truth
In a statement, Greenland’s government said the younger Trump’s visit was taking place “in a private capacity” and not as an official visit, and that Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him.
Additionally, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen declared on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.” THE the island is “not for sale” ” she said, adding that “we must remain calm and respect our principles.”
Trump Jr., speaking on a podcast Monday, said he was taking the trip without any political motivation, calling it a “personal day trip.” The visit nevertheless had political overtones.
The president-elect has expressed his desire – also expressed during his first presidency – to acquire the Arctic territory, an area of strategic importance to the United States, China, Russia and others.
And shortly after his son landed in Greenland, Trump said at a news conference that he wouldn’t do it. exclude the use of military force or economic coercion take control of Greenland, saying “we need it for national security.”
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Greenland, the largest island in the world, is located between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and is 80% covered by an ice sheet. The autonomous territory has some 56,000 inhabitants, most of them indigenous Inuit.
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Múte Egede, has called for independence from Denmark, saying in his New Year’s speech that it would be a way for Greenland to free itself from its colonial past. But Egede also said he has no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States, insisting the island is not for sale.
Independence has become a key issue in the run-up to Greenland’s parliamentary elections. No date has been set, but it must take place no later than April 6.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, told the Associated Press that she no interest in Greenland becoming part of the United States and said she hears the same sentiment from her constituents.
“Most people don’t want it,” she said. “I think some people find it quite disrespectful. And the way it was done, and the simple fact that you say you can buy another country.”
Trump also sets his sights on Canada
Greenland is not the only place outside the United States that Trump has talked about acquiring and becoming part of the United States; he can’t stop talking Canada becomes the 51st state.
At the same Tuesday press conference where he said he would not rule out military intervention or economic coercion against Greenland, he threatened similar action against Canada.
When asked by a reporter if he was considering the same thing to “annex and acquire Canada,” Trump replied, “No, it’s economic strength.”
“Canada and the United States, that would really be something,” he said. “You get rid of that artificially drawn line, and you look at what it looks like, and it would also be much better for national security.” »
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded shortly after Trump’s threat, writing on social media: “there’s no chance for a snowball in hell that Canada would be part of the United States.
“The workers and communities of our two countries mutually benefit from being the largest trading and security partner,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly said the United States “subsidizes” Canada to the tune of $200 billion in trade and spends billions more on continental defense programs like NORAD than Canada, which he says “doesn’t essentially have an army.”
“We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their wood,” he continued. “We I don’t need anything they have. We don’t need their dairy products.
“We don’t need anything. So why are we losing $200 billion a year and more to protect Canada?
— With files from Sean Boynton of Global News and The Associated Press
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A previous version of this article stated that Greenland was a Dutch country. It has been modified.
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