Why is Trump so obsessed with Greenland?

It was August 2019, and the then-President of the United States, Donald Trump, had tasked some collaborators with evaluating the purchase of Greenland. A stunt often associated with the tycoon, to the point that his collaborators themselves «continued to believe it was not serious» because the island has a self-governing government, an indigenous population, and is a constituent nation of the Kingdom of Denmark. Most importantly, any offer would have been declined, as repeatedly stated by Danish, Greenlandic, and Inuit authorities: «We are open for business, but we are not for sale.» After that August 2019, the world changed only to return to being the same as before: Trump was reelected president and immediately revived the crazy idea of buying Greenland just days after taking office in the White House. On Tuesday, January 7, during his first official conference at Mar-a-Lago, the president-elect declared that the United States «needs Greenland for national security», arguing that Denmark should relinquish it to «protect the free world». He also threatened to impose tariffs on Denmark if they do not comply and «explicitly refused to provide guarantees against the use of military coercion». Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr. is currently visiting the island, officially for personal interest but practically for political purposes. On his X profile, he posted a video approaching the Arctic island aboard a helicopter with the caption «Greenland coming in hot… well, actually, really really cold!!!!» alongside a figurine of his father holding a rifle.

Greenland's assets and treasures

Greenland coming in hot… well, actually, really really cold!!!! pic.twitter.com/IhLKVOfYVM

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) January 7, 2025

Greenland is the largest island in the world and, since the early 18th century, has been a possession of Denmark. In 1979, it obtained the status of an autonomous region with its own government, still under the control of the Danish crown. With over 2 million square kilometers of surface area, Greenland is an immense reserve of natural resources such as oil, ice, and water. In 2023, Denmark published a report highlighting the island's potential as a rich deposit of valuable minerals such as neodymium and dysprosium. Due to melting ice, as reported by the New York Times, «drilling for oil and extracting minerals like copper, lithium, nickel, and cobalt could become feasible». «These mineral resources are essential for rapidly growing industries that produce wind turbines, transmission lines, batteries, and electric vehicles,» sectors in which China is the undisputed leader.

However, the melting ice is also opening a new strategic trade route, as passing through the Arctic would make U.S. navigation routes much shorter and more efficient. Navigation through the Arctic Ocean from Western Europe to Eastern Asia is «40% shorter than via the Suez Canal [and], according to a recent Arctic Council report, shipping traffic has already increased by 37% in the past decade,» as reported by the New York Times. China and Russia have already shown interest in the Arctic, agreeing on collaboration for the development of the Arctic route, which seemingly rekindled Trump's long-standing interests and dormant antipathies. «Greenland is a highway that starts in the Arctic and ends in North America,» the tycoon told Fox News: «It is strategically very important for the Arctic, which will be the critical battlefield of the future because, with global warming, the Arctic will become a pathway that might reduce reliance on the Panama Canal.»

Trump is not the first American president to propose purchasing Greenland. In 1867, Secretary of State William Seward showed great interest, while in 1946, Secretary of State James Byrnes offered $100 million to annex the island to the United States. The response from Denmark and the island has always been a firm no. Greenland’s Prime Minister, Múte Egede, stated in the Washington Post, «We are not for sale and never will be», while King Frederik X of Denmark—who ascended the throne in 2024 after his mother, Queen Margaret II, abdicated—surprised everyone with a formal move of significant political and historical intent: he changed the royal coat of arms to give greater prominence to Greenland and the Faroe Islands. For over 500 years, the symbols in the Danish royal coat of arms included three crowns—symbolizing the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. In the 2025 version, a polar bear and a ram—representing Greenland and the Faroe Islands, respectively—take up more space, and the three crowns have been removed. This was a strong statement, a bold response to Trump’s presumption, which did not take long as he responded on social media referencing his son’s trip with «MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!». We are used to the dramatic effects and post-truths of Trump’s social media, but the second act of Trump’s presidency has undoubtedly started with a bang. We now await the Inauguration Day on January 20 to discover what surprises Trump has in store for the U.S. and the rest of the world.