On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. landed in Greenland, the Arctic island that his father, President-elect Donald Trump, has expressed a strong desire to buy, despite Greenland’s pointed declarations that it is not for sale.
Trump Jr. called the trip “a bit of fun,” telling CNN, “As an outdoorsman, I’m excited to spend this week in Greenland.”
But the trip has fueled speculation about exactly what the father’s plans are for this Arctic territory.
In December, Trump revived calls made during his first presidency for the U.S. to take ownership of Greenland, calling it “an absolute necessity.” Asked at a news conference on Tuesday whether he would rule out the possibility of using “military or economic coercion” to conquer Greenland — or Panama, which Trump has also expressed a desire to conquer — the president-elect responded: “No, I cannot guarantee you about neither, but I can tell you this: we need them for economic security.”
The president-elect says owning Greenland is vital to U.S. security, but experts say Trump may also have his eye on other aspects of Greenland, such as its treasure trove of natural resources — including rare metals — that could become more accessible as climate change melts the territory’s ice.
A unique geopolitical position
Greenland is the largest island in the world and is home to more than 56,000 people. Former Danish colony and current autonomous territory of Denmark, it occupies a unique geopolitical position, being between the USA and Europe. Its capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen.
It has long been seen as fundamental to US security, especially to repel a potential attack from Russia, explains Ulrik Pram Gad, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute of International Studies. The Northwest Passage shipping route runs along its coast and the island is part of the gap between Greenland, Iceland and the United Kingdom, a strategic maritime region.
Trump is not the first US president to float the idea of buying Greenland. In 1867, when President Andrew Johnson purchased Alaska, he also considered purchasing Greenland. At the end of World War II, the Truman administration offered Denmark $100 million for the island, according to documents first reported by Danish media outlets.
Neither offer materialized, but under a 1951 defense treaty, the US secured an air base, now called Pituffik Space Base, in northwest Greenland. Halfway between Moscow and New York, it is the northernmost outpost of the American military and is equipped with a missile warning system.
The United States is interested in ensuring that “no hostile great power controls Greenland, because it could be a foothold to attack the United States,” Pram Gad tells CNN.
Rich in rare minerals
However, what may be even more attractive to Trump are Greenland’s rich deposits of natural resources, explains Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London.
These include oil and gas, as well as rare metals, much sought after for the electric cars and wind turbines of the ecological transition, as well as for the manufacture of military equipment.
One of many research stations on the Greenland ice sheet that scientists use to track its movement and elevation. Julian Quinones/CNN
China currently dominates global rare metal production and has already threatened to restrict the export of critical minerals and associated technologies before Trump’s second term.
“There is no doubt that Trump and his advisors are very concerned about the dominance that China appears to have,” Dodds tells CNN. Greenland offers a potentially rich source of these critical minerals, he adds. “I think the goal of Greenland is really to keep China out.”
Opportunities as the ice melts
Melting ice and rapidly rising temperatures in the Arctic are giving Greenland a front-row seat to the climate crisis, but there are also those who see economic opportunities as climate change reshapes the country.
The melting ice opened sea routes, increasing the period of navigation during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Shipping in the Arctic increased by 37% during the decade to 2024, according to the Arctic Council, in part due to melting snow.
“I think Trump instinctively understands the idea that the Arctic is melting” and sees the opportunities, ponders Dodds. However, he does warn, conditions along these routes often continue to be treacherous and melting ice can make the waters even more dangerous to navigate.
As the planet warms, Greenland’s ice slides from the island into the Atlantic Ocean, where it melts and contributes to rising sea levels. Evelio Contreras/CNN
There is also a suggestion that melting ice could facilitate access to natural resources, but the climate crisis has not yet proven to be a major “game changer” in that regard, says Phillip Steinberg, professor of geography at Durham University.
It’s not that climate change is making Greenland’s resources more accessible, he tells CNN, but rather “more necessary.”
Could this really happen?
The governments of Denmark and Greenland have strongly opposed the idea that the Arctic nation can be bought.
“We are not for sale and we will never be for sale. We cannot lose our years-long fight for freedom,” Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede wrote in a Facebook post in late December.
For Kuupik V. Kleist, former prime minister of Greenland, Trump was speaking more to American citizens than to Greenlanders. “I don’t see anything in the future that could pave the way for a sale. You don’t just buy a country or a people,” he tells CNN.
But Trump’s comments come at an interesting time for Greenland, explains Dodds. Its Inuit-led government has been intensifying calls for independence from Denmark. In his New Year’s address, Egede called for the removal of “colonial-era shackles.”
“Denmark is in a panic,” says Dodds, who appears to be focusing more on his relationship with Greenland. In December, Denmark announced a large increase in military spending on Greenland. Then, in early January, the Danish royal family released a redesigned royal coat of arms, increasing the prominence of the polar bear that symbolizes Greenland.
Donald Trump Jr. poses after arriving in Nuuk, Greenland, on January 7, 2025. EMIL STACH/AFP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Greenland has sought to reinforce its independence by diversifying its economy away from fishing. In November, it opened a new airport in Nuuk as part of plans to increase tourism. But it continues to depend on an annual subsidy of around $500 million from Denmark, which has proved a major obstacle to independence.
This raises a very intriguing question, according to Dodds. “What would Greenland do if Trump offered, say, a billion dollars a year to have a different type of association?”
Some Greenlandic politicians have floated the idea of a special association, similar to the one the US has with the Marshall Islands, in which Greenland has sovereignty but also financial support from the US, in exchange for agreements on certain US strategic interests.
However, former Prime Minister Kleist was very skeptical that this type of association could work. “I don’t think that’s of any interest either. Just think about the way the US has treated its own indigenous peoples.”
For now, it is unclear to what extent Trump, once in power, will pursue his stated desire to acquire Greenland. “Nobody knows if it’s just bragging, if it’s a threat to get something more, or if it’s really something he wants to do,” points out Pram Gad.
