Greenlanders respond to Trump: "It will never be for sale"

CBS News

06-04-2025

Greenland is a quiet place, remote behind its icy fjords. But now it's suddenly a hot property.
"We have to have Greenland,"
said President Trump. "It's not a question of, do you think you can do without it? We can't!"
The American President seems determined to take over, and has refused to rule out using force. In his address to a joint session of Congress last month, he said, "I think we're gonna get it.
One way or the other, we're gonna get it.
"
Two thousand miles north of Washington, in Greenland's capital, Nuuk, they're watching with anxiety and anger. Aaja Chemnitz, one of Greenland's representatives in Denmark's Parliament, said, "If we were to be American, it would mean that we would lose our language. We would lose a culture."
For now, at least, Greenland is a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, which colonized the place hundreds of years ago. (Greenlanders have some experience with land grabs.) Asked what she thinks Mr. Trump wants with Greenland, Chemnitz replied, "I think he's interested in expanding the land. I think that he's interested in legacy also."
But Greenlanders have their own legacy. Like nearly 90 percent of them, Chemnitz has Inuit heritage – Greenland's indigenous people. Her ancestors have lived on Greenland for thousands of years.
Asked what it means to be Inuit, Chemnitz said, "We're not necessarily focusing that much on capitalism. We're focusing very much on relations. So, this is also an issue that I don't think the Trump administration would respect."
Mr. Trump says the U.S. needs Greenland for security reasons, and it's true that the U.S. is competing with Russia and China in the Arctic for military and economic dominance.
Greenland has a tiny population of around 56,000, but it's three times the size of Texas, with potential new shipping lanes, and the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet, close by. America's only military base in Greenland, Pituffik Space Base, is vital, because the shortest route for Russian ballistic missiles to target the U.S. would be across the Arctic.
Eighty-five percent of Greenlanders do not want to be part of the United States, according to a recent poll. But the majority do want full independence from Denmark. "I think if Greenland was independent and left the security umbrella of NATO as a consequence, it would undoubtedly look and feel more vulnerable," said professor Klaus Dodds, an expert in Arctic security.
But being owned by America won't make Greenland safer, according to Dodds.
Asked whether Greenland needs more military bases, Dodds replied, "What you could arguably make the case for is better maritime and aerial surveillance. But again, I think what's creating insecurity in Greenland right now, frankly speaking, is President Trump's rhetoric about annexation. No other country has spoken about annexing Greenland."
Mr. Trump may also prize Greenland for another reason: its large and mainly untapped deposits of rare earth minerals. They're used in everything from cell phones to electric car batteries, and at the moment China has a stranglehold on global supply. Climate change is melting Greenland's ice sheet, which covers around 80 percent of this vast island. That's making Greenland's mineral reserves more accessible – and they're coveted by the U.S. and other nations.
Dodds said, "President Trump wants immortality, to make America 'great' again, and that means making America larger. There is also a very specific demand, which is getting access to rare earths, because I think he's been told (quite reasonably) that certain countries, particularly China, have some kind of material advantage."
I asked, "This is not American diplomacy as we have known it in recent decades. Is there a cost to that when it comes to America's European allies?"
"It becomes a very lonely place," said Dodds.
"Your allies stop trusting you?"
"This is remarkable to say what I'm about to say: the United States stops being a trusted and reliable partner," Dodds replied.
In Greenland, this new Trump-style diplomacy appears to have backfired. Greenlanders told us they're open for business with the U.S., but it needs to come with respect.
Parliamentarian Aaja Chemnitz told us, "Greenland is not for sale; it never will be for sale."
"At any price?"
"It will never be for sale," she said.
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Story produced by Sohel Uddin. Editor: Andrew Gee.
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