Donald Trump made clear he was deadly serious in his intentions towards the barren Arctic territory of Greenland on Tuesday, saying that he would not rule out the use of force to seize control of the icy island.
It was a sobering reminder that Trump has talked up his interest in the Danish dependency since at least 2019.
And insiders say that what might have once looked like a joke is actually a matter of vital national security that has consumed the president-elect for years.
Think of it as the start of a Trump Doctrine prioritizing security in the western hemisphere, said his former National Security Council chief of staff Alex Gray.
‘The Greenland comments are very much not a joke, neither are the Panama comments,’ he said, referring to another of Trump’s ideas to reclaim the Panama Canal.
‘They reflect this larger return to a foreign policy that was really grounded in the traditions of the Republic, and a focus on the western hemisphere, and concept we call Hemispheric Defense, the Monroe Doctrine, which is deeply rooted in our history.’
Greenland sits in a prime strategic location, along the shortest route between North America and Europe.
It already hosts a US military base, the Pituffik Space Base.
And in recent years Washington has cast an eye over its rich mineral resources. In particular, its deposits of rare earth minerals could be a gamechanger for American green technologies.
Greenland, which covers 1.34million miles (2.16million kilometers), is a mineral-rich area that is almost entirely covered in ice sheets and holds strategic value for shipping routes, military interests and Arctic sovereignty
Then factor in global competition from China.
‘This has become very serious. It’s not a joke anymore,’ said Zhiqun Zhu, professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University. ‘Unlike turning Canada into the 51st state.’
One part of that is minerals, he added, another is the fear that China could strike a deal with Denmark to use Greenland in some way.
‘China has become more actively involved in the Arctic area in recent years. So I think this big power competition actually has already expanded to the Arctic area.’
What started out as a Trump eccentricity in 2019, has now been taken up by a swath of the Republican Party.
Trump returned to the idea last month, describing U.S. control of Greenland as an ‘absolute necessity.’ On Monday he posted on his Truth Social platform: ‘Make Greenland Great Again.’
A day later he was asked at a press conference whether he would rule out using military or economic coercion to take Greenland or the Panama Canal (another expansionist pet project of Trump’s).
‘No, I can’t assure you on either of those two,’ he said. ‘But I can say this, we need them for economic security.’
Trump was asked about his plans for Greenland during a Mar-a-Lago news conference
A view of Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Air Base) in Greenland
The US offered Denmark $100million in gold for Greenland in 1946, which adjusted for inflation was approximately $1.4billion in 2019. However, the valuation doesn’t include the natural resources or diplomatic importance that Greenland, the world’s largest island, currently holds. Pictured is the Greenlandic village of Kulusuk during winter (file photo)
It is tempting to think that the idea is just Trump being Trump, the property billionaire operating in the only way he knows: Seeing foreign policy as a series of land deals.
But the story behind his interest is perhaps even more bizarre, albeit rooted in sold national security arguments and more than a century of history.
The idea originally came from Ronald S. Lauder, the New York cosmetics heir and friend of Trump’s since college.
‘A friend of mine, a really, really experienced businessman, thinks we can get Greenland,” Mr. Trump told his national security adviser, according to an account in ‘The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021’ by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser. ‘What do you think?’
The result was an expert team being stood up to look into the idea. It recommended a string of options including a lease arrangement like the sort of thing Trump wold know from New York real estate deals.
Officials were sworn to secrecy for fear the idea would leak out and their boss would be ridiculed. Even so, the task absorbed months of their time.
‘I love maps,’ Trump later told the authors. ‘And I always said: “Look at the size of this. It’s massive. That should be part of the United States.”‘
In fact, U.S. interest in the world’s biggest island goes back more than a century.
Washington has made several attempts to purchase the territory from Denmark (as it did with the Danish West Indies – now the U.S. Virgin Islands – for $25 million in 1917) since 1867.
In 1868, ‘A Report on the Resources of Greenland and Iceland’ led Secretary of State William H. Seward to say there was a case to be made for buying both from Denmark. But a deal to pay $5.5 million in gold never quite materialized.
Declassified documents show that the Truman administration went one further in 1946, making an offer of $100 million in gold bars for Greenland.
Donald Trump Jr’s plane landing in Greenland on Tuesday for a one-day visit
The Danish response goes unrecorded, but the U.S. did manage to build air bases on the island—its main concern.
This time around the Danish reaction is clear. Greenland is very much not for sale.
But the territory has only grown in strategic importance as China flexes its muscles in the Arctic and new uses have been found for its mineral deposits.
Rare earth minerals, such as cerium and lanthanum, have key roles in some of today’s most advanced devices, making everything from smartphones and MRI machines to electric cars and batteries for green technologies work efficiently.
Experts say the U.S. lags far behind China in production of rare earth minerals, and has led the field since the 1990s.
‘Talking about Greenland aggressively like this helps hide the fact that Washington really dropped the ball on this,’ said a diplomatic source.
Last month, Beijing slapped export controls on such minerals after the US banned exports of some advanced semiconductors to China.
And the issue could take on even greater importance when Trump takes office on January 20 with plans to ramp up tariffs on Chinese imports.
‘China controls a large amount of rare minerals, and it is likely to use this as a weapon against the United States if Trump raises tariffs again,’ said Zhiqun.
‘From Trump’s perspective, Greenland probably can serve as kind of a counterbalance to offset any negative consequences.’
