Trump's Greenland takeover plan looms large over the nation's election

President Donald Trump's wish to take over Greenland is looming over the island as it holds its elections on Tuesday amid a debate about its future.

There have been growing calls for independence from Denmark but not all of the islanders want to be part of the United States. Voters now will elect 31 lawmakers who will shape the island's future.

With Trump's declared interest, the results will be watched around the world. Pro-Trumpers are making their presence known on the island, distributing 'Make America Great Again' hats on the streets of capital city Nuuk.

Trump weighed in on Monday, the day before voters went to the ballot box.

'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. We will continue to KEEP YOU SAFE, as we have since World War II,' he wrote on his Truth Social account. 

'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!'

In his Joint Address to Congress last week, Trump said of Greenland: 'I think we're going to get it one way or the other.' 

It remains an open question on what the future holds for Greenland. But all five parties in its parliament have said they do not want the island to become part of the United States.

Opinion polls show that the people there favor independence. 

One poll found that 85% of Greenlanders do not wish to become a part of the United States, and nearly half see Trump's interest as a threat. 

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Greenlanders 'deserve to be treated with respect, and I don't think the U.S. president has done that recently since he took office,' the island's Prime Minister Mute Egede told the public broadcaster, DR, on Monday. 

Out of concern of election interference, Greenland’s parliament passed legislation in February that bans political parties from receiving financial contributions from foreign and anonymous donors.

Trump is interested in the island's strategic position in the North Atlantic and its wealth of minerals. It also is believed to have natural gas and oil off its shores. 

There are fears he could it by force.

'I think most of us have been scared since the new year because of (Trump's) interest,' Pipaluk Lynge, a member of parliament from the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit, or United Inuit party, told The Associated Press. 

'So we're really, really looking to Europe right now to see if we could establish a stronger bond with them to secure our sovereign nation.' 

Greenland is the world's largest island and also one of the most sparsely populated. It is home to about 56,000 people.

It has been controlled by Denmark for almost 300 years. It became a formal territory in 1953 and gained home rule in 1979. 

Copenhagen, however, still defends the island contributes about $1 billion to its economy.

Greenlanders also have Danish passports and healthcare. The island also benefits from Denmark's memberships in NATO and the EU.