What Is Really Behind Donald Trump’s Dogged Pursuit Of Greenland

In a casual free-wheeling media conference on Tuesday, U.S. president-elect Donald Trump reiterated his wish to acquire Greenland - an autonomous strategic island that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Trump described his repeated calls to bag the Arctic island, situated between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans just east of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, as "critical" for U.S. national and economic security as well as that of the "free world."

The president certainly has form when it comes to Greenland. He made similar calls back in 2019 during his first White House stint. The U.S. as a nation has form too. It first flirted with the idea of acquiring Greenland as far back as 1868.

The island has been strategically important for Washington since World War II. The U.S. army occupied Greenland in 1941, a move that ultimately morphed into a permanent American and NATO military presence.

At the height of the Cold War, Greenland remained critical to NORAD or "North American Air Defense Command" that is responsible for providing air security, sovereignty and protection for the wider North American continent.

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As for the Danes, they too have a history of selling territory to the Americans. Cue the 1917 sale of the Danish East Indies to the U.S., subsequently renamed as the U.S. Virgin Islands.

So what has triggered Trump's dogged pursuit of Greenland, and why again now? Of course, security is one reason but there's another not-so-subtle motivating factor too.

Not Just About Security

Trump's pursuit isn't only about security. The U.S. already is the de facto dominant military force in Greenland, albeit on paper respectful of its autonomy and Danish connection. That is unlikely to change and Denmark has no way of altering the dynamic even if it wanted too.

Interestingly, Greenland's mineral resource riches are becoming more accessible as the Arctic ice continues to melt due to changing weather patterns and its mining industry is over three centuries old. That may be an equally powerful motivating factor for Trump.

More so, if the resource riches are examined in detail, many of which are highly coveted in the age of digitization and electrification of the global socioeconomic complex.

According to the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, the island is rich in rare earths, lithium and cobalt used in the manufacture of components for a range of items from batteries to mobile phones, wind turbines to transmission lines, and much else in between from a technological perspective.

Greenland is also known to have radioactive riches like uranium. Tapping of traditional hydrocarbons can also not be discounted via its coking coal deposits and potential for offshore oil and gas drilling.

The island's copper and feldspar deposits also offer plenty for myriad industries and the construction sector. Buying access to Greenland's riches would assuage some U.S. anxieties about China and Russia's voracious extraction of mineral resources at home and abroad that are deemed critical for the future.

For the Greenlanders, their mineral wealth represents a golden ticket to economic and political independence from Denmark. They realize that extractive technologies now among us to tap that wealth in their hostile climate.

Trump knows this only too well thanks in no small part to Australian geologist Greg Barnes, who discussed the island's rare earths with 20 his administration officials in 2019, as subsequently reported by the Financial Review.

What Happens Next?

In response to Trump's remarks, Denmark said Greenland was for Greenlanders and it was up to them to decide their fate. Condemnation from Copenhagen's European Union partners France and Germany followed, especially after Trump refused to rule out military or economic measures to gain control of Greenland.

In practice, it is doubtful Trump would invade Greenland. He does not need to, the U.S. presence on the island is already the centerpiece of its defense with a limited Danish shield accompanying it.

It is equally doubtful the EU can do much either if the U.S. escalates things militarily. All of its 27 members, including Denmark, are members of NATO.

Shortly after the president's remarks, his son, Donald Trump Jr, arrived for a brief visit to Greenland on Tuesday, describing it as a "personal day trip." Rich in symbolism, he subsequently posted a photo on X (formerly Twitter) with a group of Greenlanders in a bar wearing "Make America Great Again" caps.

Symbolism might well hold the key. The dogged and very public pursuit of Greenland - which is pursuing its own independent future - serves Trump's agenda of pushing Denmark and the EU into an uncomfortable diplomatic position when wider trade talks gather momentum after he takes office on January 20.

Improving U.S. security and its access to critical resources matter deeply. Trump is simply setting out his incoming administration's position on Greenland in his usual brash and unorthodox way that global diplomats simply have to contend with for the next four years.