Greenland says despite Trump’s threats and son’s visit, they aren’t for sale

Donald Trump Jr. said his visit to Greenland was not politically motivated. Meanwhile, his father wouldn't rule out using force to take control of the territory.

As Donald Trump continues to talk about taking control of Greenland, his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., travelled to the autonomous Dutch territory on Tuesday — but Greenlandic and Danish officials are making it clear they want nothing to do with what the Trumps are proposing.

“Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland,” Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, Tuesday. “The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”

In a statement, Greenland’s government said the younger Trump’s visit was taking place “as a private individual” and not as an official visit, and Greenlandic representatives would not meet with him.

Further, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.” The island is “not for sale,” she said, adding that “we need to stay calm and stick to our principles.”

Trump Jr., speaking on a podcast Monday, said he was making the trip without any political motivations, calling it a “personal day-trip.” The visit, nonetheless, had political overtones.

The president-elect has voiced a desire — also expressed during his first presidency — to acquire the territory in the Arctic, an area of strategic importance for the U.S, China, Russia and others.

And shortly after his son touched down in Greenland, Trump told a news conference that he wouldn’t rule out using military force or economic coercion to take control of Greenland, saying that “we need it for national security.”

The world’s largest island, Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans and 80 per cent of it is covered by an ice sheet. The autonomous territory has some 56,000 residents, most of them Indigenous Inuit people.