Donald Trump Jr plans to visit Greenland, two weeks after his father reiterated that he wants the United States to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
US media have reported that the US president-elect’s son plans to record video for a podcast during his one-day private visit.
President Donald Trump reignited the controversy in December last year by saying, “Ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary for U.S. national security.”
He previously expressed interest in purchasing an Arctic island during his first term as president. Trump was rebuffed by Greenlandic leaders both times.
“We are not for sale and we will not be for sale,” the island’s prime minister, Mute Egede, said in December. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
President-elect Trump confirmed his son’s trip on Monday on his social media platform, Truth Social Media.
He said Don Jr. and “various delegates” would travel to Greenland “to visit the most spectacular regions and attractions.”
President Trump added that Greenland and its people “would benefit tremendously if Greenland became part of our country.”
“We will protect and cherish it from a very vicious outside world,” he said. “Make Greenland great again!”
The president-elect’s post also included a video of an unnamed Greenlander wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat telling Trump to buy Greenland and liberate it from Danish “colonization.”
The identity of the man in the video is unclear.
Greenland is strategically important to the United States because it is located on the shortest route from North America to Europe. It is also home to America’s largest space facilities.
The president-elect’s eldest son has played a key role in the 2024 U.S. election campaign and has frequently appeared at rallies and in the media.
But he will not travel to Greenland on behalf of his father’s incoming administration, according to Denmark’s Foreign Ministry.
“We have commented on Donald Trump Jr’s planned visit to Greenland. As this is not an official visit by the United States, the Danish Foreign Ministry has no further comment on this visit,” the Foreign Office told BBC News.
Hours after President-elect Trump’s latest intervention, the Danish government announced the following measures: Greenland’s defense spending increases significantly. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen described the timing of the announcement as “an irony of fate.”
On Monday, King Frederick X of Denmark changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently represent Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Some saw this as a rebuke to Trump, but it could also become controversial for Greenland’s separatist movement.
In his New Year’s address, King Frederick said the Kingdom of Denmark was united “all the way to Greenland”, adding: “We belong together.”
But Greenland’s prime minister used his New Year’s speech to call for independence from Denmark and said the island must break free from the “shackles of colonialism.”
President Trump is not the first U.S. president to propose purchasing Greenland. This idea was first proposed by Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, in the 1860s.
Separately, in recent weeks Trump has Threats to reassert control of Panama CanalIt is one of the most important waterways in the world. He accused Panama of charging excessive fees for access.
Panama’s president responded that “every square meter” of the canal and surrounding areas belonged to Panama.
