Greenland

US to Greenland: “We will pay you more than Denmark”

Joachim Kerpner

Published 11.16

US Consulate in Greenland’s capital Nuuk. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix

Trump’s team is calculating the cost of taking over Greenland.

The next step is to make the island’s government an offer it can’t refuse.

– We will pay you more than Denmark does, says an American source.

Quick version

• US President Donald Trump is considering buying Greenland. His team is now calculating the costs of taking over the island’s social services and income from natural resources.
• Trump claims that the US can offer better compensation to Greenland than Denmark, which currently covers the island’s social expenses.
• Greenland's new leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen opposes an American takeover and emphasizes that Greenland should defend its self-determination in a peaceful and controlled manner.
  

        

         Can you buy Greenland?

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US President Donald Trump is increasing the pressure on Greenland and Denmark. The White House is calculating how much it would cost to control the island and arrange social services for the 57,000 Greenlanders, reports The Washington Post. Denmark currently spends about six billion kronor on social services annually.

- We spend more than that. The point is that "we will pay you more than Denmark does," an informed American source tells the newspaper.

The American calculation also includes an analysis of what processing Greenland's natural resources could bring in.

As recently as Saturday, Donald Trump stated in an interview with the American NBC News that he is "100 percent" sure that the United States will be allowed to take over the island. He did not rule out this time that it might take the form of a military takeover.

When US Vice President JD Vance came to Greenland uninvited and visited a US military base on Friday, he launched a fierce attack:

- Our message to Denmark is simple. You have not done a good job for the people of Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen - who categorically rejects an American takeover of Greenland - will visit the Danish territory on Wednesday after an invitation from the island's new government.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who took office as the new leader of Greenland on Friday, wrote on Facebook on Sunday:

- We must react peacefully, with dignity and in harmony. With these values, we must clearly and calmly show the US president that Greenland is ours.

In January, the American think tank American Action Forum stated that the market value of Greenland's natural resources justifies a purchase price of two trillion kronor, but that the island's strategic value is closer to 30 trillion kronor.