In his inauguration address a couple of weeks ago, Trump praised McKinley as one of the greatest American presidents and “a natural businessman”. And as far back as 2019, Trump was asking aides to find a way to secure Greenland in, what he then called, “essentially a large real estate deal”. So, I reckon he’s pretty serious.
Greenland PM Mute B Egede, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen.Credit: AP
With a population of 56,000, Greenland is an autonomous self-governing part of Denmark. I know, Denmark seems a long way away (because it is), but the connection is historic, much like Australia’s to the Antarctic, or Great Britain’s to the Falkland Islands, or France’s to Caledonia.
In a call in January, Trump told Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen the US would impose tariffs if Denmark doesn’t come to the party. Considering Trump just imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Mexico and Canada, and a 10 per cent tariff on China, I doubt he’s bluffing.
Frederiksen doesn’t seem to think he is – she spent last week travelling to Berlin, Brussels and Paris to discuss the situation with European leaders. During one post-meeting press conference, she said, “Everyone in Europe can see that it will be a different collaboration with the USA now,” and added that “borders must not be moved by force”.
In case there was any doubt about Trump’s ambitions, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said the president’s ambitions aren’t a hoax and that “this is not a joke”.
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But what do Greenlanders themselves think of all this? Polling from last week shows 85 per cent of residents aren’t interested in becoming US citizens, and 45 per cent consider Trump a threat. Prime Minister Mute Egede told Fox News: “The Greenlandic people don’t want to be Danes, the Greenlandic people don’t want to be Americans. Greenlandic people want to be part of the Western alliance as Greenlandic people.”
But here’s the thing – if I were a Greenlander, why wouldn’t I want to be American?
The Danes haven’t exactly been showering them with largesse or exploiting their minerals, and it’s only now that the danger appears to be clear and present that Denmark is rolling out a $3.2 billion boost to its Arctic military presence.
The Greenlanders could be among the richest people on the globe if The Great Developer could get his hands on the island.
They would also be among the safest. The US could build naval, air and land bases on all the newly exposed territory that would deter China and Russia from moving into the neighbourhood for the foreseeable future.
The 56,000 cold but proud residents would see their future much more brightly under the umbrella of the US, rather than remaining with the aloof Danes.
Christopher Pyne is executive chairman of lobbying firm Pyne and Partners and a former minister in the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments.
