President Donald Trump sent two different messages to the people of Greenland on Sunday, inviting them to consider joining the United States ahead of the local elections taking place this week. While his approach on Truth Social was more gentle, his address to Congress displayed a renewed and aggressive determination to incorporate Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark, into the U.S. According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority to admit new states into the Union, making this proposal a possibility.
Greenland is largely uninhabited and a vast icy landmass, with just over 50,000 residents, primarily Inuit, living mainly along the coasts of the frozen island.
What did he say?
“As I made clear during my Joint Address to Congress, the United States strongly supports the people of Greenland’s right to determine their own future,” Trump said on TruthSocial. “We will continue to KEEP YOU SAFE, as we have since World War II. We are ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH — And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be a part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America!”
Trump has mentioned the economic and national security benefits of U.S. interests in Greenland, which could provide valuable minerals and is strategically close to Russia.
Experts believe that as ice continues to melt in the Arctic, more shipping routes and military pathways could open, potentially altering global trade and the defense relationship between the U.S. and Russia. In addition, there could be increased opportunities for mining and drilling exploration.
Recent polls indicate that, for now, the majority of Greenland residents do not wish to join the U.S., although support for independence from Denmark seems to be growing. Greenlanders will head to the polls on Tuesday for their own national election. And although Trump's message on Truth Social to the Greenlanders was somewhat gentler, the American President was way more provocative in his speech to the Congress.
"We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and, if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," Trump said in his speech. "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it, really, for international world security.
"And I think we’re going to get it," Trump added. "One way or the other, we’re going to get it. We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”
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