Purchase of Greenland Remains High on Trump’s Post-Inauguration Agenda
Just like he hit the ground running with his selections for his administration, President Trump is not wasting time regarding what he wants to accomplish in his first 100 days in office. One of those items is taking the necessary steps to purchase Greenland. House Republicans introduced a bill on Monday so that Trump could start negotiations with Denmark to acquire Greenland as soon as Inauguration Day, according to Axios.
Make Greenland Great Again Act
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is leading the bill, which has been given the title "Make Greenland Great Again Act," according to Fox News.
The language of the bill specifically states in section 2 that "Congress hereby authorizes the President, beginning at 12:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 20, 2025, to seek to enter into negotiations with the Kingdom of Denmark to secure the acquisition of Greenland by the United States…"
The language of the bill goes on to note that once an agreement has been reached between Trump and Denmark, that Trump needs to forward those documents on to Congress for their review. Congress has 60 days to look the agreement over and decide how it wants to proceed.
Trump said in a Fox News report that the U.S. needs Greenland for national security and economic reasons. In that same report, he also expressed an interest in acquiring Canada.
"…Canada and the United States. That would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. You know, we basically protect Canada."
Greenland Willing to Negotiate with Trump
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute B. Egede has expressed an interest in doing business with Trump for mining and trade purposes, but not for acquisition, according to Bloomberg.
Greenlandic lawmaker Aaja Chemnitz has specifically said that Greenland isn't for sale, but it would like to be an independent country.
"Some people in Greenland are a little startled by all the attention we're getting globally," Chemnitz said in a phone interview with USA Today last week. "A close dialogue between Greenland and Denmark is important right now. It's also important to be very calm and think about how we can make a wise decision.
"It's not a question of whether we should be Danish citizens or American citizens. It's a question of how can we be Greenlanders and have a good Greenlandic future."
Why Greenland Matters to America
Former NATO supreme allied commander James Stavridis has said that Trump's idea of acquiring Greenland isn't a "crazy" one.
"It's not a crazy idea.… We could do an awful lot in terms of business, investment, box out the Russians, box out the Chinese, and work very closely with Greenland," Stavridis said during an appearance on WABC 770 AM's The Cats Roundtable, which was picked up by National Review.
He went on to note that "It sits at the very top of the North Atlantic. It protects approaches to our own country …It's geographically very important. It's full of strategic minerals, rare earth, probably a lot of gold. It's got a lot of natural resources."
"It doesn't have to become the 51st state, but it can certainly be an economic objective for us," Stavridis added.
Trump isn't the only president to eye Greenland for purchase. The Truman administration had the same idea, according to The Post and Courier. Truman was in office from 1945 – 1953, the final stages of World War II, and the early stages of the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/KimKimsenphot
Originally published January 17, 2025.
