As I too often write, it isn’t the least bit crazy to want to bring Greenland into the American fold, probably as a territory over statehood – the idea has been tossed around by a few presidents. So incoming President Donald Trump isn’t out of his mind in wanting the acquisition. No, it has been the approach. As nearly every man knows, coming on too strong is a death knell for desire, and it is the way that Trump broached the topic that has been so off-putting, especially to the Greenlandic people. The fantastically-named Prime Minister of Greenland, Mute Egede, went on Fox News Thursday night and put the entire thing on ice. (Video below)
American interests in Greenland always began with military defense. Egede naively went about attempting to assuage such concerns as if he’s never had cable, by noting:
“We will always be part of NATO. We will always be a strong partner for U.S. We are close neighbors, we have been cooperating in the last 80 years, and I think the future have a lot to offer to cooperate with, but we want to also be clear. We don’t want to be Americans, we don’t want to be a part of U.S., but we want a strong cooperation together with U.S.
Yes, sort of – he is presuming that the U.S. will always be in NATO or even wanting a strong partnership with anyone for anything. Be that as it may, there are other means by which we can cooperate, including with the Danes, who maintain tacit control over the world’s biggest island. It all gets back to whether Donald Trump wants a partner or a frost-bit new ocean-side club. At times, he has sounded like he might well send in the Marines to… Well, camp and take cool pictures – probably. Still, Egede emphasized that the people maintain their independence:
“Greenland and the future of Greenland will be decided by the Greenlandic people, and the Greenlandic people don’t want to be Danes, the Greenlandic people don’t want to be Americans. Greenlandic people want to be part of the Western alliance as Greenlandic people.”
Cool, that is the right sentiment. But there are only 57,000 people in question, a small enough number that votes can literally be bought. The figure is useful because no one can really be sure how much mineral wealth might remain uncharted below. If someone put a development deal together (“Trump-Atlantic International”) it could actually go over if one set aside a share in those rights to the people in place at the time of the deal. It works for Alaskans – our other ice-covered gold depository. There are other possibilities, eco-tourism is big, perhaps the biggest Amazon warehouse ever. Again, this isn’t all that insane.
But to start off with a “We will buy you!” or – even worse, “We claim you!” well – that will get you the quote above every single time – you are not going to have breakfast together. It is possible that a deal gets done but this is one of those things that is best bandied about behind closed doors once within the White House and not just off the putting green at Mar-a-Lago in December. A softer approach and a surprise announcement are the keys to warming a cold heart – to the extent that matters.
We will see what happens. Just because things don’t look good right now doesn’t mean it’s all that bad-looking. There might be a way to soft-sell this thing down the road if the country really could benefit. The idea isn’t entirely crazy, the spectacle of it all is getting so.
BREAKING 🚨 | Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede:
🗣️ “We don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be a part of US but we want a strong cooperation together with US.”#Greenland | #Denmark | #USA pic.twitter.com/eQChCUpEFq
— The Election Post (@TheElectionPost) January 16, 2025
God Bless: I can be reached at [email protected] and on X – @JasonMiciak and now on Bluesky.
Friends, I am forced to self-promote and ask you for money. We had a bad year compared with 2023 and the end of the year has been catastrophic. Traffic died on November 5. We are a small blog and completely self-supporting by ad revenue, donations, and subscriptions. If you can afford a monthly subscription that would help us out. If you can make a small donation, likewise. Our only goal is to stay in business and give you the best content we can generate. You are the wind beneath our wings. Thank you. Ursula
“It works for Alaskans – our other ice-covered gold depository.”
Jason, there’s hyperbole, and there’s just sheer stupidity. Alaska is NOT “ice-covered” anywhere close to the same level as Greenland. Greenland’s interior has NEVER seen temperatures exceeding 60 degrees Fahrenheit in June or July. Fairbanks, AK, has average daily temperatures over 60 degrees in June and July; Summit Camp, Greenland (in a location roughly analogous to Fairbanks) rarely if ever gets above freezing even in the height of summer (in fact, the RECORD HIGHS for those months is around 36 degrees Fahrenheit).
Alaska has NOTHING comparable to the Greenland ice sheet (only Antarctica has an ice sheet). Alaska has a noteworthy ice field (in the panhandle region north of Juneau) but the total of ice fields and glaciers in Alaska account for somewhere between 25,000-30,000 square miles; Greenland’s ice sheet covers some 660,000 square miles (just slightly less than Alaska’s TOTAL area) of the country’s total 830,000+ square miles. (If the ice sheet were to melt completely, roughly 1/3 of Greenland’s interior would become a lake; either similar to the Caspian Sea and wholly landlocked, or similar to Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana and connected to the sea by a narrow strait.)
My comment was limited to the resource share – not a whole lot more. I can’t think of another state with a similar benefit. The “Other gold depository” might have just as well gone to Nevada and is regrettable. But with respect to Alaska, I was only thinking about the shared interest in the land below.
That actually is a talk worth having. It is conceivable that American companies might convince Greenlandic people that they’ve been used by Denmark and that they really should want to sell to bidders. It is capitalism – which I support – and if these hardy people wanted to think about it, who could blame them? One wonders whether enough investment has really gone into Greenland and how much would go into it IF it was under an American flag.
One thinks that tourism alone – probably in summer, when the sun is out – would double their GDP – throw in the Joint Navy-Air Force base and you have it tripled. I am seriously thinking that this might be a decent idea for all around – I’ve read some on the previous justifications, and I am sympathetic. But ultimately, it really should be left up to the people that have endured the place and called it home, no one else.
Make them a deal that they can’t refuse.
jason
naive, aren’t you? look at how the US treats Puerto Rico and Samoa. Greeblanders would be trading a benevolent distant government for a malevolent, exploitative one with no interest in their well being at all.
Your point is well taken. The only thing I would say in response is to ask Puerto Ricans and Somoans if they would rather be entirely independent or keep their American citizenship. It should be their choice. Please do not read this as somehow supportive of how we’ve treated the people in our territories. Just because we’re not doing enough doesn’t mean that it’s a terible answer going forward.
jason
Your point is well taken. The only thing I would say in response is to ask Puerto Ricans and Somoans if they would rather be entirely independent or keep their American citizenship. It should be their choice. Please do not read this as somehow supportive of how we’ve treated the people in our territories. Just because we’re not doing enough doesn’t mean that it’s a terrible answer going forward.
jason
I saw a great meme this morning that claimed “in Viking times, they would’ve cut off Junior’s head and sent it back as a message.” 🤗 But then, headless Trump is redundant. 🤭
To use a smaller analogy…there’s a vast difference between meeting a woman you want to woo into bed…and raping her. Yeah the Alaska comparison really doesn’t match the reality. Of course, in this world, if you’re a rich guy, I guess you can rape at will and then get confirmed to run the US military. What happened women? I grew to manhood during the rise of feminist movement. Evidently it hasn’t reached the millions of women who either voted FOR the rapist in chief…or sat at home on their privileged asses. Go figure. I guess Greenland will be bought off like all these victims.
Dear Greenland. More than half of Americans want nothing to do with Donald Trump. You have our sympathies.
Sincerely,
Gillian Fitzgerald
P.S. Is there a room x for a retired fantasy author and librarian and her husband a retired sailor?