Donald Trump Jr.‘s recent visit to Greenland has drawn sharp criticism from local leaders, including a top lawmaker who claimed it was a “staged” attempt to portray the territory as supportive of U.S. annexation.
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, has long been a strategic interest for global powers due to its vast resources and location in the Arctic. In 2019, Donald Trump first proposed purchasing Greenland, a move Danish leaders called “absurd.”
The renewed push comes as Greenland continues its pursuit of full independence from Denmark, with its leaders emphasizing the island’s sovereignty and dismissing U.S. overtures.
Meanwhile, Greenlanders, who share cultural and historical ties with Alaska Natives, are wary of U.S. treatment of indigenous populations.
On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland, meeting locals and handing out “Make America Great Again” hats in what some Greenlandic officials described as a tightly controlled, staged event, Politico reported.
“No journalists were allowed to interview him. It was all staged to make it seem like we — the Greenlandic people — were MAGA and love to be a part of the USA,” Pipaluk Lynge, a member of Greenland’s Parliament, said.
Lynge claimed the visit aimed to falsely depict Greenlanders as supportive of U.S. acquisition.
While Trump Jr. posted glowing remarks on social media about the reception, Lynge said some locals were openly hostile, with a few giving him the finger or writing “Yankee go home” online.
“People were curious, but some took pictures giving him [the] finger at the airport … Some wrote on Facebook: yankee go home,” Lynge said.
President-elect Trump exacerbated tensions by declaring he would not rule out using economic or military force to take control of Greenland.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede reaffirmed the island’s commitment to independence, urging Greenlanders to stay focused on their sovereignty amid external pressures. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also reiterated that Greenland is not for sale.
“There is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either,” Frederiksen said.
Originally published by Latin Times
