U.S. President Donald Trump is renewing his efforts to take control of Greenland for his country’s national security — again.
“We need Greenland for national security, not for minerals…. If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it for national security. We have to have it,” Trump told reporters on Monday at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla.
Trump also clarified that the U.S. is not interested in Greenland for its mineral wealth.
“We have so many sites for minerals and oil and everything. We have more oil than any other country in the world,” Trump said. “We’ll have to work it all out.”
On Sunday, Trump said he named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry special envoy appointed to the Arctic island to “lead the charge.”
“I am pleased to announce that I am appointing the GREAT Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, as the United States Special Envoy to Greenland,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World. Congratulations Jeff.”
Landry thanked Trump on X, writing, “It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S. This in no way affects my position as Governor of Louisiana.”
On Monday, the U.S. president said Landry approached him about being appointed envoy.
“He’s a deal guy. He is a deal-maker type guy,” Trump said.
Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said Monday that Trump decided to create the special envoy role because the administration views Greenland as “a strategically important location in the Arctic for maintaining peace through strength.”
The Trump administration put further pressure on Copenhagen on Monday, when it suspended leases for five large offshore wind projects being built off the East Coast of the U.S., including two being developed by Denmark’s state-controlled Orsted.
Trump’s announcement appointing the special envoy is drawing renewed criticism from Denmark and Greenland over Washington’s interest in the mineral-rich Arctic island.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, told Danish broadcasters he would summon the U.S. ambassador to his ministry over the appointment to “once again make it clear that there are some lines being crossed here, but of course also to get an explanation.”
“I am very upset about this appointment of a special envoy. And I am particularly upset about the envoy’s statements, which we find completely unacceptable,” Lokke Rasmussen said.
“Out of nowhere, there is now a special U.S. presidential representative, who, according to himself, is tasked with taking over Greenland. This is, of course, completely unacceptable.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, released a joint statement with regard to Trump claiming the U.S. needed Greenland for “national security.”
“We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law,” Frederiksen and Nielsen said. “They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.”
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” they added in the statement emailed by Frederiksen’s office. “We expect respect for our joint territorial integrity.”
Greenland’s Nielsen also released a statement Monday after Trump made the appointment, writing, “We have once again woken up to a new statement from the American president, who has now appointed a Special Envoy to Greenland. It may sound significant. But it changes nothing for us here at home.”
“Our future is decided by us. Greenland is our country. We have our own democracy, our own decisions, and a strong community that stands firm. Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people, and territorial integrity must be respected,” he added.
“We are happy to cooperate with other countries, including the United States, but this must always take place with respect for us and for our values and wishes. There is no reason for concern. We stand together, and we stand firm.”
Nielsen also shared a post on Facebook, stating that he was “sad, because at a press conference tonight the American president again expressed a wish to take over Greenland.”
“With words like that our country is reduced to a question of security and power. This is not how we see ourselves, and this is not how we in Greenland can or should be talked about,” he continued.
“We are people with a long history, a strong culture and a vibrant democracy. We are a country with responsibility for our own territory and for our own future.”
Nielsen said Greenland’s “territorial integrity” and “right to self-determination” are “rooted in international law and cannot simply be ignored.”
“Therefore, I am also thankful. Thank you guys at home for the clear support and unity shown. The calmness and dignity with which you have met the situation sends a clear signal of people standing firm on their values and responsibilities,” he added.
“Greenland is our country. This is where our decisions are made. And at any time I will fight for our freedom and our right to self-determination and shape our future.”
Trump has long advocated for Greenland to become part of the United States.
Trump initially voiced his interest in Greenland in 2019 during his first term in office. He said Greenland was “hurting Denmark very badly” and costing it US$700 million a year. His solution was to have the United States acquire Greenland, calling it “a large real estate deal.”
Last December, Trump renewed unsuccessful calls he made during his first term for the U.S. to buy Greenland, the world’s largest island, from Denmark.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he wrote.
Greenlandic and Danish officials made it clear they want nothing to do with what Trump was proposing.
Denmark’s Frederiksen said in January that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.” The island is “not for sale,” she said, adding that “we need to stay calm and stick to our principles.”
In January, Danish politician Anders Vistisen did not hold back when he issued a public message to Trump over his pitch to make Greenland part of the United States.
“Dear President Trump, listen very carefully,” Vistisen said in European Parliament. “Greenland has been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It’s an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale.”
Vistisen went on to use some profanity that got him in trouble with the rest of the European Parliament.
“Let me put it in words you might understand,” he said. “Mr. Trump, f–k off!”
Former Greenland prime minister Múte Bourup Egede reasserted in March that Greenland cannot be bought, in response to Trump, who said the United States would acquire the territory “one way or another” during a speech to Congress.
“Kalaallit Nunaat is ours,” Egede wrote on Facebook, using Greenlandic for the “Land of the People” or the “Land of the Greenlanders.”
When Greenland’s current prime minister, Nielsen, took office in March, he pushed back against Trump’s assertions that America would take control of the island territory.
“President Trump says that the United States ‘will get Greenland.’ Let me be clear: The United States will not get it. We do not belong to anyone else. We decide our own future,” Nielsen said in a Facebook post.
“We must not act out of fear. We must respond with peace, dignity and unity. And it is through these values that we must clearly, clearly and calmly show the American president that Greenland is ours.
“It was like that yesterday. That’s how it is today. And that’s how it will be in the future.”
— With files from The Associated Press and Reuters