Before his son's visit, Donald Trump wrote on social media that he would "make Greenland great again" if the island became American, "an absolute necessity".
On Tuesday evening, Swedish time, Trump warned that a military intervention was not ruled out.
No, I cannot bind myself to that (not going in militarily). It may be that something needs to be done.
Later, he also threatened Denmark with tariffs if the country did not agree to his terms. The answers came at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Florida and concerned American control over Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Say, we need them for economic security.
"Not for sale"
Trump Jr is in Greenland "as a tourist" and has no official meetings – according to the news agency AP, he is there to record a podcast – but was met by people wearing Trump caps and greeted from his father:
He says hello. I talked to him yesterday and he sends greetings to everyone in Greenland, he said according to Greenlandic KNR.
But if the future president hopes for support from Greenland, he will have to think again. "We are not for sale and will never be," writes Greenland's Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede to DR.
Frederiksen: Greenland's choice
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says to DR that the USA is Denmark's most important ally and that she welcomes all interest in Greenland, but emphasizes that everything must be done with respect for the Greenlanders.
All conversations must begin and end in (the capital) Nuuk. Greenland is a people, a language and a culture, it's a fantastic country.
It's Greenland's choice how the future will look.
About Trump's remarks on a military intervention, she says to TV2:
I don't even have enough imagination to imagine that we can get there. I think we should continue our trade exchange and do it in a normal way.
One formulates oneself in the way one does, she continues, referring to the American's rhetoric.
Greenland is classified as the world's largest island with an area five times larger than Sweden's. About 80 percent is covered by ice, in some places over three kilometers thick.
The island has around 57,000 inhabitants and the largest city is Nuuk (formerly Godthåb in Danish). Greenlandic is the official language, but Danish plays a significant role in public activities. Shrimp fishing is the most important industry.
In the 1720s, the island became a Danish colony on the initiative of the missionary Hans Egede. In 1953, Greenland became a Danish county. In 1979, the island gained limited but relatively large self-government, with its own legislative assembly and government (the Landsting and Landsstyret).
The question of whether Greenland should become independent has often been relevant. A number of opinion polls have shown in recent years that a large majority of the inhabitants want the island to free itself from Denmark.
Denmark has a defense agreement with NATO colleague USA, which gives American military significant leeway on Greenland. There are, among other things, radar stations that provide the opportunity to monitor the airspace over the North Ice Sea.
Source: Landguiden/UI
