This whole Greenland thing has been a lot of fun since the moment it started. I mean, the way it just popped out of Trump's mouth like any one of those thousands of random musings he does on any given day.
Then, it took on a life of its own, as the most serious ones Trump floats tend to do.
With him, it's always the ones that sound so ludicrous or too incredible or simply 'WTF? Where did THAT come from?!' that you have to pay the closest attention to. Because those are the ones he's going somewhere with.
...In 2019, in what just may have been a case of existential presidential musing that caught on, Donald Trump mulled over, you know...buying Greenland. Everybody had a case of 'WHERE the hell did THAT come from?"
But it's Trump, and you roll with it.
Donald Trump has confirmed he is considering an attempt to buy Greenland for strategic reasons, though he said the idea is “not No1 on the burner”.
The government of the semi-autonomous Danish territory insisted it was not for sale. The Danish prime minister called any discussion of a sale “absurd”.
ABSURD
The Danes scoffed in disgust and forgot about it, as Trump was never going to sit in the Oval Office again, right?
Well, almost six years later 45 was headed towards becoming 47, and danged if the lunatic didn't start talking Greenland again.
This time, he got their attention along with the customary bravado-laced scorn.
...The difference between 2019 and now is no one is laughing about it quite as convincingly. In many ways, POTATUS and the world he's left to Trump are one reason.
The Danes certainly sat right up, and they didn't sit still. Trump's victory was only two months old, and he's yet to be inaugurated, but Denmark wasn't waiting around for President Trump. They upped their defense spending for Greenland in a massive boost right after Trump mentioned he was still considering making an offer.
The Danes also admitted they hadn't spent a dime on the place in years.
The Danish government has announced a huge boost in defence spending for Greenland, hours after US President-elect Donald Trump repeated his desire to purchase the Arctic territory.
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the package was a "double digit billion amount" in krone, or at least $1.5bn (£1.2bn).
Even the King of Denmark got a little pissy about the whole takeover talk, and after having someone remind him where Greenland was, he updated the royal coat of arms as a snooty 'take that' answer to the American president's common effrontery.
The king had the polar bear in the design made larger.
...For their part, and this is where my headline ties in, the Danish royal court has fearlessly waded into the battle, doing what it can to fend off the American invaders.
Denmark changes coat of arms after Trump offers to buy Greenland
Updated design highlights polar bear symbol of island more distinctly
The King of Denmark has altered the royal coat of arms to feature Greenland more prominently amid Donald Trump’s declared interest in buying the territory.
Sure showed us.
This whole brouhaha gave the rest of Europe a chance to flex its muscles, including that tiny imp of a French president, Emmanuel Macron. He offered troops to the Danes to protect Greenland from Trumpian invaders.
History's lessons can be so brutal.
What for? To help Greenland surrender more effectively?
...In a moment of levelheadedness, the Danes were like, 'Merci non.' Moral support is all they'll need, preferring to handle it on their own.
France has discussed with Denmark sending troops to Greenland in response to United States President Donald Trump's repeated threats to annex the Danish territory, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said.
Barrot said in an interview with France's Sud Radio that France "started discussing [troop deployment] with Denmark," but that it was not "Denmark's wish" to proceed with the idea.
I believe the Danes felt forking over two new patrol ships, some drones, and a pair of extra dogsled teams to add to Greenland's security posture had been more than enough on their part.
You'll never mistake them for big spenders.
Under the radar, though, the Danes had been making overtures to Trump and his team, both to take the heat off and see if maybe there could be some accommodation made that suited them both. After all, the Danes had never really done anything with the island themselves, either.
Denmark sent private messages in recent days to President-elect Trump's team expressing willingness to discuss boosting security in Greenland or increasing the U.S. military presence on the island, two sources with knowledge of the issue tell Axios.
Why it matters: Trump's refusal to rule out military force to take control of Greenland was effectively a threat to invade a longstanding NATO ally. Those comments caught Copenhagen and many other European capitals off guard.
...Between the lines: The Danish government wants to convince Trump, including through the messages passed to his advisers this week, that his security concerns can be addressed without claiming Greenland for the U.S.
On the island itself, the Trumps had launched a charm offensive with Don Jr flying in to check on real estate during the first week of January. Danged if Dad didn't make hearts palpitate at a rapid rate by calling in during a raucous get-together at a local pub.
Things settled down for a bit after Trump's inauguration - no more mentions of the island in a busy first month of DOGEing and getting cabinets rolling while rolling over Panama - right up to his speech to the Joint Session of Congress, and the famous "We're gonna get it, one way or the other...'
🚨TRUMP: "I have a message tonight for the people of Greenland *comedic pause*. If you choose we will welcome you to the United States of America. We need Greenland for national and international security. I think we're going to get it...one way or the other." 😂 pic.twitter.com/UlVPY6WUYO
No doubt there were collective gasps from Denmark to Nuuk.
Trump doubled down on it, too.
President Trump just now said, "We have to have Greenland."
"We have to do something with Greenland. We have to protect Greenland. But we need it for national security, and we need it, maybe more importantly, for international security."
...“Kalaallit Nunaat is ours,” [Múte Bourup] Egede said in the post, using the Greenlandic name for his country.
“We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland,” he said. The post ended with a clenched fist emoji and a Greenlandic flag.
Nowhere in any of the Trump vs. Greenland debates did I hear mention of upcoming elections. Lo and behold, they were held last night but before we get to that, here's a little background on Greenland politics.
...In the early 1950s, Greenland became a county of Denmark, and in 1979, it was given its own devolved parliament – with powers to make laws.
Its single-chamber parliament in Nuuk – the territory’s capital – is called the Inatsisartut in Greenlandic, which means “those who make the laws”. Apart from defence and foreign affairs, all of these are made by the Greenlanders.
Independence from Denmark only became an issue in the early 2000s, but it was not seriously debated before 2008 when Denmark agreed to Greenland’s future status.
Part of the deal was that the money Denmark sends Greenland every year (known as a “block grant”) will be reduced as mineral mining starts paying for public services. The agreement was passed in a referendum in 2008, which also gives Greenland the right to secede at a time of its choosing.
The incumbent Egede is the leader of the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit party, which wants independence from Denmark. So does the centrist party Naleraq.
Early polls had signaled the prime minister's party losing some support.
...The current government parties have lost ground. Inuit Ataqatigiit’s projected vote share is down from 37% to 31%, and Siumut’s will – according to polls – be reduced from 29% to 21%.
The main beneficiaries of the unpopularity of the present government are Demokraatit and Naleraq. The former stands to double its vote share to 18%, 2% ahead of the latter.
Voters went to the polls yesterday and delivered a stunner.
Greenland’s center-right Demokraatit party pulled off a surprise victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, taking Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede’s party, Inuit Ataqatigiit, out of power. Independence from Denmark became a focal point of the election amid President Donald Trump’s repeated talk of the U.S. taking control.
"People want change ... We want more business to finance our welfare," said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, Demokraatit's leader, according to Reuters. The outlet added that Nielsen said Greenland does not "want independence tomorrow" and would prefer separation from Denmark be based on a "good foundation."
...The Demokraatit Party saw a major increase in support, winning nearly 30% of the vote compared to just 9% in 2021, according to the Associated Press, which cited Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation KNR TV.
The two winning parties, Demokraatit and Naleraq, are both measured independence parties, but Naleraq has a distinctly favorable Trump inclination. Not to be American-owned, mind you, but American-style.
Greenlander Lars Jorgen Kleist proudly sports a MAGA hat while voting in Greenland’s election at a polling station in Nuuk today pic.twitter.com/dMUBBePQrd
Naleraq members are tired of rusticating in the north on their isolated island, and Trump's dynamic vision and verve appeal to them. They want to hear the same sort of sentiments coming from the Danish, who control their destiny now.
PAY ATTENTION TO US
...The Democrats and Naleraq each favour independence from Denmark but differ on the pace of change, with Naleraq favouring a faster pace than the Democrats (known as Demokraatit in Greenland).
The result – an earthquake in Greenlandic politics – surprised even the Democrat leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The party has never before secured so many seats – it won 10 seats, an increase of seven on the last election and three more than its previous record of seven in 2005 – and was not considered one of the key players, with most attention on IA, Naleraq and Siumut, IA’s coalition partner.
...The future government is expected to map out a timeline for independence, which is backed by a large majority of Greenland’s 57,000 inhabitants. The longstanding movement has gained significant traction in recent years after a series of scandals highlighting Denmark’s racist treatment of Greenlanders – including the IUD scandal, in which up to 4,500 women and girls were allegedly fitted with the contraceptive device without their knowledge, and “parenting competency” tests that have separated many Inuit children from their parents.
...Despite all the international attention, [Naleraq MP Kuno] Fencker said the election was won on domestic issues such as business, fisheries, pensions, people’s livelihoods and healthcare.
He hopes that Naleraq will be able to form a coalition with the Democrats as the ruling party, as both parties want reforms on business, fisheries, tax and pensions, and Fencker believes they could agree on a path to Greenland becoming a sovereign country.
Fencker, who travelled to Washington DC for Trump’s election and has been described as “Greenland’s most pro-Trump politician”, said that although relations between Greenland and Denmark had been improving under Frederiksen, he wishes she would mirror some of Trump’s most recent rhetoric on Greenland, but that he is strongly opposed to any form of US ownership.
This certainly has been interesting.
And, while the Naleraqs credit their 2d place election victory to domestic issues carrying the day, there isn't much arguing that following a Trump/American-style revitalization program won't add some zip to their economy and some Greenlandic krone to the bottom line.
Once a government is formed between the Demokraatit and Naleraq, it will be easier to assess what effect the long Orange Shadow cast over the island really had on the ballots that were cast.
Not to mention, I wonder just how cozy the Demokraatit will still be with Europe when they start negotiating with the 47 Man himself instead of seeing it play out on TV.
