Fears Trump will ‘attempt to construct golden lodge’ on Greenland after joke resurfaces
As Trump renews his demands to own Greenland for the sake of “national security” one unfortunate joke about his plans has resurfaced from his first term in office
Donald Trump is once again calling for the island of Greenland to be handed over to America(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump has not ruled out the possibility to push ahead with plans to build a “golden hotel” on Greenland. It comes as he continues to make demands to seize the island for America’s “national security”.
Tensions are rising between Washington, Nuuk and Copenhagen over Greenland’s future, as Trump’s administration has pressed for the world’s largest island to come under American control. Trump has said that if he does not take the island, then Russia or China will.
However, this is not the first time that Trump had talked up the idea of taking control of the icy nation, as he first floated the possibility of asking for Greenland during his first term as president. Now, one unfortunate joke has resurfaced online as attention turns to what the President would do with the island.
Back in 2019, now-two-term president Trump had first breathed life into the idea of America taking control of Greenland. Lying close to Canada, the President said he was “strategically” interested in doing a deal to buy the island from Denmark, despite the fact that 85% of Greenlanders do not want to be under US control.
At the time, this idea was perceived as just one of several wild plans that Trump was eyeing as he neared the end of his first term in office. However, he added at the time in a conversation with reporters that it was “not number one on the burner”.
In an attempt to quell tensions between his NATO allies and the White House, Trump took to his once-active Twitter account to post an image of his infamous Trump Tower in Nuuk itself. Having photoshopped the building, which stands in Las Vegas, alongside small bungalows along the coast, he made a quip that appeared to joke at the situation.
Uploading the photo with the word “Greenland” at the bottom”, Trump joked: “I promise not to do this to Greenland!” However, many did not find the joke funny, including Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen, who poured cold water on Greenland becoming US property, according to Sky News.
She blasted the idea at the time as being “an absurd discussion”, adding: “Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic,” before saying she hoped “that this is not something that is seriously meant”.
However, seven years on from this, talk of Greenland becoming American territory has ramped up as a result of Trump’s increasingly ominous demands to own the island. He exclaimed that the United States is in need of Greenland for “national security reasons”.
Frantic discussions have since been held with representatives from Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk about the future of the island. However, after leaving the talks, which were held earlier this week, Danish ambassador Lars Løkke Rasmussen said there was no movement towards a final resolution.
It comes as Trump has chillingly said he will own Greenland one way or the other, as he gave the Greenlandic people a choice of having it done “the easy way or the hard way”. Greenlanders are vastly opposed to American rule, with just 6% of respondents of a survey saying they would welcome Trump’s plan to seize their country.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.
