'Greenland not for sale': Danish PM reacts to Trump’s Greenland interest

Frederiksen reminded that Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Egede “has been very, very clear … that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either.”

Even five years after Frederiksen criticized former President Trump’s attempts, she reiterated that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”

“On one hand, I am pleased regarding the rise in American interest in Greenland. But of course, it is important that it takes place in a way that is the Greenlanders’ decision, what their future holds,” Frederiksen said in an interview Tuesday with Danish broadcaster TV 2.

In 2019, Trump had already made an offer to purchase Greenland. At that time, Frederiksen called the proposal “absurd” and emphasized that the Greenlanders should decide their own future.

She also called the growing independence movement on the island “legitimate.”

“I can notice a strong wish amongst many Greenlanders to move toward independence. It is legitimate, and therefore, I think that it is important that Greenland’s future is shaped in the Greenlandic capital Nuuk,” she said.

The Danish leader’s remarks followed an offer by Trump last month to purchase Greenland from Denmark. He called the acquisition of the Arctic territory an “absolute necessity.” Trump had also made a similar offer in 2019 during his first term. It met with resistance from Frederiksen.

Competing interests

Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, Geoff Dabelko, a security and environmental professor at Ohio University, explained the US attempts to acquire Greenland by saying it is a place where “climate change, scarce resources, tense geopolitics, and new trade patterns all intersect.”

The scholar noted that the world’s largest island is now largely “central to the geopolitical, geoeconomic competition in many ways,” partly due to climate change.

Dabelko pointed out that valuable rare-earth minerals, crucial for telecommunications, are locked inside Greenland. Additionally, the island’s subsoil contains uranium, billions of barrels of untapped oil, and vast natural gas reserves.

According to the expert, many of these resources are currently supplied primarily by China, which is why other countries, such as the United States, are also interested. Three years ago, Denmark’s government suspended oil drilling on the shelf in an area inhabited by 57,000 people.

Since 1992, Greenland has been losing about 182 billion tons (169 billion metric tons) of ice annually, with losses reaching 489 billion tons per year (444 billion metric tons) in 2019.

Risk of freezing Europe and the US

Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado, noted that Greenland will be a “key focus point” throughout the 21st century due to the impact of its melting ice sheet on sea levels. He added, “It will likely become a bigger contributor in the future.”

Greenland also serves as the engine and “switch” of a key ocean current that significantly influences the Earth’s climate. This includes hurricane and winter storm activity. The current, known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is slowing down. This is happening because more fresh water is being released into the ocean due to Greenland’s ice melt.

Serreze pointed out that the shutdown of the AMOC system would be a turning point for the climate. It could potentially plunge Europe and parts of North America into a prolonged freeze — an event depicted in the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow.

Greenland plays a role in the dramatic freeze currently affecting two-thirds of the US. Winter weather expert Judah Cohen noted that in 2012, weather conditions over Greenland helped steer Superstorm Sandy into New York and New Jersey.

“Because of Greenland’s mountains of ice, it also changes patterns in the jet stream, which brings storms across the globe and dictates daily weather. Often, especially in winter, a blocking system of high pressure off Greenland causes Arctic air to plunge to the west and east, smacking North America and Europe,” Cohen said.

Additionally, the AP noted that Greenland, located above the Arctic Circle between the United States, Russia, and Europe, has been a geopolitical prize. The US and other countries have been vying for it over the past 150 years. Its value is increasing as the Arctic becomes more accessible for shipping and trade.

Greenland

Greenland, the world’s largest island, has about 60,000 people. It was a colony of Denmark for a long time but became a self-governing state with its parliament in 1979. It remains a territory of Denmark, with Copenhagen controlling its foreign and defense policies.

Under a 2009 agreement with Denmark, Greenland can declare independence only after a successful referendum. In his New Year address, the island's leader, Egede, did not rule out holding a referendum in conjunction with upcoming parliamentary elections on the island in April.

As world powers strive to expand their influence and presence in the Arctic, Greenland, rich in natural resources and home to a US military base, is highly sought after for its strategic value in security and trade.

Trump's ambitions

During his first term as president (2017-2021), Donald Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland.

After recent messages from the elected US president, King Frederik X of Denmark changed the royal coat of arms on January 6, 2025. The changes made Greenland and the Faroe Islands more prominent.

The Washington Post suggests that Trump’s statements may be driven by policies aimed at countering Russia and China.

On Tuesday, January 7, Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., landed in Greenland for a private visit. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Trump Jr.'s staff director, Sergio Gor, were also spotted with him.

Read about what's behind Trump's messages on Greenland, as well as the Panama Canal and Canada, in our author's article.