Donald Trump's proposition to buy Greenland in 2019 resurfaces, Danish representative responds

Now that Donald Trump has won the race for the White House, there are new headlines every day about how he is putting together his cabinet - for example, he put billionaire Elon Musk in charge of the 'government efficiency' department. Little by little, we are also finding out what Donald Trump plans to do when he and his team take over the reins of government in January 2025.

Donald Trump wanted to buy Greenland

While everyone's waiting to see if Donald Trump will follow through on his election promises, and is watching his every move, reports of his earlier propositions are resurfacing—including some of his more 'bizarre' ideas.

In 2019, the former president spoke about acquiring Greenland for the USA. He is quoted by Bild as follows:

Denmark is basically the owner. [...] We are well allied with Denmark, we protect Denmark. When the concept came up, I said: 'Sure I would be in'. Strategically it is interesting and we would be interested.

He posted this at the time:

In wake of his re-election, an electoral map of the United States, showing Greenland as part of the country, has garnered a lot of attention. With over 4 million views, the map that was posted by Republican congressman Mike Collins has been captioned: 'Project 2029'.

Responding to this post, a member of Danish parliament commented on the plan on X, as follows:

Greenlandic independence requires approval by the Danish parliament[sic] and a change of our constitution.

I can guarantee you that there is no way we would approve indepence[sic] so that you could buy Greenland. Nice fantasy but forget it.

Why Greenland?

Eighty percent of Greenland is covered in ice - the country is about six times the size of the United Kingdom. And Bild lists other interesting facts about the island:

It had over 56,000 inhabitants in 2023.

Parliamentary democracy as the form of government. The head of state is King Frederik X of Denmark, the head of government is Mette Frederiksen.

Since 1979 extensive autonomy within Denmark, since 1985 Greenland is no longer part of the European Union.

Fishing is the most important economic sector; the main raw materials are oil, coal, zinc, gold, copper, nickel, platinum and uranium. The main trading partner is the EU, especially Denmark and Sweden

In the rare chance that Denmark were to agree to sell Greenland to the United States, this would represent the most significant expansion of American territory in history, according to Bild, even surpassing the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

But why so much interest in this frozen country? As the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reports, one reason for wanting to take possession of Greenland could be that an Australian businessman has reported a discovery of rare goods on the island.

Moreover, according to Fox News, Donald Trump is not the first president who has wanted to acquire Greenland. The country is highly prized, like Iceland, for this strategic importance. In fact, President Truman had also offered $100M to the Danish government for Greenland after World War II in 1946, after American military leaders supported the idea that it would be a 'military necessity'.

This article has been adapted from Oh!MyMag DE.

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Sources used:

NZZ: Why Trump wanted to buy Greenland

Stern: These are Donald Trump's drastic election promises and their consequences

Bild: Trump wants to buy Greenland

Fox: President-elect Trump has considered buying Greenland: Here's every proposal in American history