Greenlanders should join Trump’s America. They’d be richer and safer

Have you ever been in the embarrassing situation of asking a classroom of high school kids about the feats of heroism of the Howard government only to be met with unknowing stares? Or entreating children to put their hands up if they’ve ever heard of John F. Kennedy and faced nary a hand reaching for the sky?

I certainly have. But I am willing to risk it all by spinning the wheel again – have you ever been to Greenland? See, I assumed I was on a winner there.

Credit: Dionne Gain

For a long time, little ol’ Greenland was not exactly on our radars (at three times the size of Texas, it’s not exactly little either). But it certainly is on the radar of China, Russia and, perhaps most overtly, since President Donald Trump declared his interest in buying the Arctic island from Denmark, the United States of America.

With the melting of the polar ice caps in the Arctic Circle and the melting of the ice in Greenland due to warmer global temperatures brought about by climate change, Greenland has suddenly become very important thanks to its very significant mineral deposits that everyone wants or needs. While the ice previously prevented these resources being accessed, now they are easier to exploit, and everyone is interested.

For millennia, it has been next to impossible to navigate the waterways of the Arctic Circle, but because of climate change, those waters are now accessible – and being encroached upon by Russia (who are not everyone’s favourite dinner party guest right now) and China. The Chinese navy is going so far as to build ice-breaking ships so that they can go even further afield. Considering it has no geographical connection to the Arctic Circle, all this effort seems rather unnecessary. Unless they are looking to have one.

Given its unique location, Greenland is strategically placed and these shifts in interests are making people who were hitherto chill (pardon the pun) about the island decidedly hot under the collar. Canada, the Scandinavian countries, Europe and of course the US are not encouraging any interest from the Russian or Chinese quarters.

More importantly, it seems likely that the policymakers in the White House and the strategists in the Pentagon may have made an assessment that should Chinese or Russian forces move in to “help” exploit its wealth and then never leave, there’s little Greenland would be able to do about it. Hence, the self-described greatest developer on the globe, Trump, wants Denmark to sell Greenland to the US.

Though the idea may sound ridiculous, there are a welter of precedents for such a thing. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased Louisiana from the Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1898, President William McKinley “acquired” the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico from Spain.

In his inauguration address a couple of weeks ago, Trump praised McKinley as one of the greatest American presidents and “a natural businessman”. And as far back as 2019, Trump was asking aides to find a way to secure Greenland in, what he then called, “essentially a large real estate deal”. So, I reckon he’s pretty serious.

Greenland PM Mute B Egede (left) and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen.Credit: AP

With a population of 56,000, Greenland is an autonomous self-governing part of Denmark. I know, Denmark seems a long way away (because it is), but the connection is historic, much like Australia’s to the Antarctic, or Great Britain’s to the Falkland Islands, or France’s to New Caledonia.

In a call in January, Trump told Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen the US would impose tariffs if Denmark doesn’t come to the party. Considering Trump just imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Mexico and Canada, and a 10 per cent tariff on China, I doubt he’s bluffing.

Frederiksen doesn’t seem to think he is – she spent last week travelling to Berlin, Brussels and Paris to discuss the situation with European leaders. During one post-meeting press conference, she said, “Everyone in Europe can see that it will be a different collaboration with the USA now”, and added that “borders must not be moved by force”.

In case there was any doubt about Trump’s ambitions, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday said the president’s ambitions aren’t a hoax and that “this is not a joke”.

But what do Greenlanders themselves think of all this? Polling from last week shows 85 per cent of residents aren’t interested in becoming US citizens, and 45 per cent consider Trump a threat. Prime Minister Mute Egede told Fox News: “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.”

But here’s the thing – if I were a Greenlander, why wouldn’t I want to be American?

The Danes haven’t exactly been showering them with largesse or exploiting their minerals, and it’s only now that the danger appears to be clear and present that Denmark is rolling out a $3.2 billion boost to its Arctic military presence.

The Greenlanders could be among the richest people on the globe if “The Great Developer” could get his hands on the island.

They would also be among the safest. The US could build naval, air and land bases on all the newly exposed territory that would deter China and Russia from moving into the neighbourhood for the foreseeable future.

The 56,000 cold but proud residents would see their future much more brightly under the umbrella of the US, rather than remaining with the aloof Danes.

Christopher Pyne is executive chairman of lobbying firm Pyne and Partners and a former minister in the Howard, Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments.

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