Trump will not issue military action to take control of Greenland as his son visits

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday will not rule out military or economic coercion to advance his goal of bringing both Greenland and the country. The Panama Canal under US control, as his son, Donald Trump Jr., is in Greenland amid Trump’s push for independent Danish territory.

“I can’t confirm it, you’re talking about Panama and Greenland,” Trump told reporters during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. “No, I can’t guarantee you on either of these. But I can say this – we need it for our economic security.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen rejected Trump’s plans for Greenland but said he would continue to welcome American interest and investment, thanks to Trump Jr.’s visit.

“Yes, I hope that Trump Jr. will have a chance to see Greenland and visit the beautiful country,” Frederiksen said in a TV interview on Tuesday. “But it is also important to hold firm that the future of Greenland is defined by the Greenlanders, not by the rest of us.”

“It is their country that we are talking about here, and it is Greenland, in my eyes, that can decide and define the future of Greenland,” he said. Frederiksen still views the US as an important ally as Moscow and Beijing increase their cooperation.

“I would rather have American investment and American interest than Russian or Chinese demand,” he said. On the other hand, I would like to encourage everyone to respect that the people of Greenland are people, they are people,” said Frederiksen. “It’s their country at stake here.”

Trump Jr. arrived Tuesday in Greenland on his father’s “Trump Force One” plane, a few weeks after him My father also expressed a desire for the US to rule in the independent area of ​​Denmark. The visit comes a day after Trump suggested the state’s residents should be “MAGA,” in a social media post.

“Just here as tourists,” Trump Jr. said. he told reporters when he entered the airport in Greenland’s capital Nuuk on Tuesday. “We’ve been talking about going. I was actually supposed to be here last spring because of some of the things I do in my spare time, but I’m so happy to be here. It’s an amazing country.”

He was immediately asked about his father, who said he wanted to make Greenland part of the US, but he replied that soon the second president, “says hello.”

“We were talking to him yesterday, so he says hello to everybody in Greenland,” Trump Jr. said.

Greenland has a population of about 57,000 and is an independent territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has oil, natural gas and minerals, but its economy depends on subsidies from Denmark and fishing.

Still, Trump on Tuesday expressed doubts about Denmark’s control of Greenland, despite Greenland’s status as an independent territory.

“Nobody knows if they have a right, a title or an interest,” Trump said, impolitely, in Denmark and Greenland.

“Donald Trump Jr.’s visit is a private visit and that is respected by Naalakkersuisut – the Government of Greenland. Therefore, there will be no reaction to the visit,” Minnguaq Kleist, Greenland’s permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. , he told CBS News before his arrival on Tuesday. “Our country is open to visitors, and visitors are welcome to our beautiful country.”

Reuters, citing a source familiar with the trip, said Trump Jr. he was planning to shoot content for the podcast, and that he would only visit for one day.

On Monday, President-elect Trump said on social media, “He heard the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA.’ My son, Don Jr, along with various representatives, will travel to visit some of the most beautiful places and places to see. Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit greatly if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation to protect it, and introduce it, to a very cruel World DO GREENLAND AGAIN!

Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland during his first term in office, although the idea was fleeting was rejected by the Danish authorities.

Two weeks ago, Trump said on social media, “for the purposes of National Security and Liberty around the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Greenland’s government has twice rejected Trump’s assertions of interest in the area, as has Prime Minister Mute Egede. he said just before Christmas that “Greenland is ours. We are not selling and we will not be sold.”

Last week, Egede gave a New Year’s speech urging Greenland to throw off the “chains of colonialism” and gain full independence from Denmark.

“It is time for us to take a step and shape our future, in terms of who we will work closely with, and who we will trade with,” said Egede.

One of the Greenlandic lawmakers in the Danish parliament, Aaja Chemnitz, said that Trump’s interest should be dismissed, Reuters reported.

“I don’t want to be a pawn in Trump’s wild dreams of expanding his empire to include our country,” Chemnitz said.