Donald Trump, Jr. is headed to Greenland on a ‘personal’ trip with big diplomatic overtones after his father called buying the island for the U.S. an ‘absolute necessity.’
The visit, reported in the Danish press and confirmed by a source familiar with the trip, comes amid the returning president’s interest in territorial acquisition.
Trump Jr. is an advisor to his father and an honorary cochair of his transition, and has had his ear on key personnel picks, including the selection of running mate Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
‘Don is popping in for a quick day-long trip to shoot some fun video content for podcasting. He will not be meeting with any government officials or political figures,’ the source told DailyMail.com.
Don, Jr. remains an avid outdoorsman and hunter who doesn’t mind visiting cold climates.
However there are reports that the visit comes at the request of Erik Jensen, the minister of finance who backs independence for Greenland.
The president-elect chimed in late Monday with his own statement tying the visit to his goal of bringing Greenland into the U.S.
‘I am hearing that the people of Greenland are “MAGA.” My son, Don Jr, and various representatives, will be traveling there to visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social site. ‘Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!’ he wrote.
The country’s prime minister, Múte B. Egede, meanwhile, has postponed a visit to meet with King Frederik – who just rolled out a redesigned coat of arms depicting Greenland as part of Denmark’s symbolic dominion. Egede’s office attributed that merely to calendar gymnastics.
The returning president has called the island vital to U.S. national security, and he has continued to speak about expanding the territory of the U.S. since his election. Greenland has mineral deposits and offers a strategic gateway to the Arctic, and has attracted the attention of China.
‘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,’ Trump wrote when announcing PayPal cofounder Ken Howery as his choice for U.S. ambassador to Denmark.
With threshing oar: Donald Trump Jr. is traveling to Greenland, after his father President-elect Donald Trump called acquiring the island an ‘absolute necessity’
Trump’s push could all be part of his ‘disruptive’ approach to foreign policy, said Rebecca Pincus, director of the Polar Institute at the Wilson Center in D.C.
‘The notion of buying Greenland gets a lot of attention. It’s not a boring policy proposal, right? It’s dramatic, it’s bold. And so I think that can maybe cut through the billion policy proposals flying around Washington, D.C. at any given time. It can kind of catalyze attention and send a really clear signal that we need to do something about Greenland,’ she told DailyMail.com.
Visiting Greenland in January, she noted, is ‘very tricky.’ There aren’t currently direct flights, and the temperature Monday afternoon was 22 degrees Fahrenheit. But the world’s largest island has something to offer even if it’s not for sale: virtually ‘unlimited’ hydropower due to its melting ice sheet, large mineral deposits, and strategic geography.
King Frederik sent his own signal about the importance of Greenland with a big club and a Polar Bear – and perhaps even a message to Trump.
Frederik, who succeeded the Danish throne after the abdication of Queen Margrethe II last year, has released a new coat of arms that reaffirms his kingdom’s longtime claim the territory.
The territory has been under Denmark’s effective control since the 14th Century, but Donald Trump has once again revealed his interest in the U.S. buying or obtaining the territory, which lies between Canada and Scandanavia.
The new royal coat of arms released by the crown dispenses with a historic use of three crowns to representing the historic union of Scandanavian nations.
Instead, the new coat of arms shows an enlarged Polar Bear, as well as a ram signifying its dominion over the Faroe Islands, a self-governing part of the Kingdom.
A pair of Nordic men with ripped physiques now hold fatter and more prominent clubs – a Danish version of Teddy Roosevelt’s ‘speak softly and carry a big stick’ rejoinder. The men are slightly more broad-shouldered, with bigger pectoral muscles, a wider torso, and taller stance, plus a bit more hair.
The Polar Bear, in addition being displayed larger, has a long menacing red tongue.
Word of the redesign spread on a day when Trump once again asserted his intention to expand the nation – after bringing back both his ambitions for Greenland and threatening to retake the Panama Canal in a pre-Christmas message complaining about ‘ridiculous’ fees.
The new flag issued by the King Frederik features a more prominent Polar Bear, in a signal of keeping Greenland within the realm. Two nordic men are also drawn as more more musclar and are brandishing bigger clubs
Trump has said it is an ‘absolute necessity’ to acquire the island.
He also also referenced ways to forge an expanded empire by issuing repeat statements about making Canada the 51st state.
The symbolic statement of dominion over Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark and former colony, comes despite a separatist movement there.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede gave a New Year’s speech where he said ‘we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the shackles of colonialism – and move forward.’
‘It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be,’ he added.
The new royal coat of arms has a larger polar bear, signifying Greenland, an a ram signifying the Faroe Islands
King Frederik X released the new coat of arms less than a year after taking the throne
Donald Trump, set to be sworn in January 20, has said it is an ‘absolute necessity’ to acquire Greenland
Egede has rejected Trump’s offers to buy the island of 836,330 square miles (larger than Alaska) in 2019 and again last year. ‘Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale,’ Egede has said.
‘It is important to signal from the Danish side that Greenland and the Faroe Islands are part of the Danish realm, and that this is not up for discussion. This is how you mark it,’ Royal expert Lars Hovbakke Sørensen told TV2.
Trump continued to use the language of expansion as recently as Monday in an interview with Hugh Hewitt where he vowed to ‘un-ban’ President Biden’s new protections of millions of acres of offshore lands from drilling.
Speaking about the wealth of U.S. energy resources, Trump said: ‘You know, we have something that nobody else has. I mean, nobody has, to the extent we have it, and it’ll be more by the time we finish, because I’ll be able to expand, you know, we’re going to expand our country,’ Trump said.