Donald Trump Jr touched down in Greenland on Tuesday, hours after his father reiterated his interest in taking control of the Arctic autonomous territory, pledging to “make Greenland great again”.
After arriving in the Greenlandic capital in a Trump-branded plane, the US president-elect’s son told a waiting crowd in the Nuuk airport arrivals hall – some wearing red Make America Great Again caps – that he was “very excited to be here”. It was, he said, “a little colder here than it is in Florida”, adding that his father “says hello to everyone in Greenland”.
Asked about his plans, he said he was visiting as a tourist, had no intention to meet politicians and declined to talk about US interest in Greenland, saying he was merely there to “see a lot of the sights, talk to some people and have a good time”.
He was later pictured outside a controversial statue of Hans Egede, a Danish-Norwegian missionary who is seen as a symbol of Danish colonialism, and his entourage reportedly handed out “make Greenland great again” hats.
Video footage appears to show Donald Trump Sr addressing a group over lunch during a call to his son’s phone, saying: “We’re going to treat you well.”
Later, during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, the US president-elect reiterated his plan to obtain Greenland and the Panama canal, threatening “very high” tariffs and even military coercion on Denmark if it prevented the US from acquiring Greenland.
He said he could not guarantee that economic or military coercion would not be needed. “But I can say that we need them in terms of economic security,” he added.
Elon Musk also appears to support the idea, writing on X: “If the Greenlandic people want to be part of the United States – which I hope they do – they are very welcome.”
Trump Jr said in a podcast, which aired on Monday, that he was “not buying Greenland” but that he was going on a “very long, personal day trip”. He added: “I’m hopping on Trump Force One and landing in Greenland tomorrow morning.”
Nevertheless, his arrival in the capital, Nuuk, prompted the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, to break her silence to say the autonomous territory was “not for sale”.
“Seen through the eyes of the Danish government, Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” the Social Democrat told TV2.
Describing the US as “our absolute closest ally”, she said “we always want to work more closely with the Americans”. But she called on “everyone to respect that Greenlanders are a people, a population,” adding: “Only they can define their future.”
The Greenlandic prime minister, Múte Egede, later reiterated a similar sentiment, writing on Facebook: “Let me repeat it – Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders. Our future and fight for independence is our business.
“Danes, Americans and everyone else can have opinions, but we should not be caught up in the hysteria and pointing fingers at others. Because our future is ours and must be shaped by us.”
The visit is taking place against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Greenland and Denmark as the Trump administration prepares to take office.
Greenland is a former Danish colony and remains part of the kingdom of Denmark, which continues to control its foreign and security policy.
As well as its supply of multiple in-demand raw materials for green technology – including 25 of the 34 that the EU needs – amid melting Arctic ice and strategically positioned between the US and Russia, Greenland is viewed as increasingly important for defence and is emerging as a geopolitical battleground.
The Danish King Frederik shocked some historians with a new year move to change the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands, which was also seen as a rebuke to Trump’s advances.
A meeting between Egede and the king, scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Denmark, was cancelled on Monday without explanation. Greenland has since put it down to “calendar gymnastics”.
Trump Jr has said he is visiting the vast island in a private capacity. Others in his group include the political activist Charlie Kirk, who cofounded the pro-Trump conservative organisation Turning Point USA.
“We want to meet people,” the president-elect’s son said in his podcast, Triggered. “They seem like a great bunch of people.”
The Greenlandic government said no meetings had been scheduled with government representatives. The Danish and Greenlandic governments have both said it is a private visit.
Greenland’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement: “Greenland is open and those who wish to visit us are welcome.”
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with a population of 57,000, has mineral, oil and natural gas reserves but slow development has meant the economy is reliant on fishing and subsidies from Denmark. Nuuk is closer to New York than it is to Copenhagen.
Trump, who takes office on 20 January, said his son and multiple representatives were going to visit “some of the most magnificent areas and sights”.
On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump praised Greenland, describing it as “an incredible place”, and pledging to “MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
“The people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation,” he wrote. It comes after he recently said that “the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity”.
In his previous term as president, between 2017 and 2021, Trump also expressed interest in buying Greenland but was quickly dismissed by both Greenlandic and Danish authorities.
Over recent months, tensions have escalated significantly between Greenland and Denmark. There is intense anger in Greenland over investigations into the forced contraceptive scandal of the 1960s and 70s, prompting the Greenlandic prime minister to accuse Denmark of genocide. There are also continuing protests in Copenhagen and Nuuk over the separation of Greenlandic children from their parents.
Last week, Egede accelerated his argument for independence from Denmark, saying in his new year speech that he wanted Greenland to break free from “the shackles of colonialism” to shape its own future. He did not, however, mention the US.
The visit by Trump Jr comes just months before Greenland’s next parliamentary election in April, when Egede said the next election period must create “major steps” to “creating the framework for Greenland as an independent state”. According to a 2009 agreement with Denmark, Greenland must hold a successful referendum before declaring independence.
Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic member of the Danish parliament, said the idea of a US takeover should be firmly rejected. “I don’t want to be a pawn in Trump’s hot dreams of expanding his empire to include our country,” she said.
