Trump escalates plans to acquire Greenland after resident pleads: 'Denmark's using us'
President-elect Trump ramped up his calls for the U.S. to take ownership of Greenland in an amusing social media post on Monday.
The move comes as the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., is preparing to travel to Greenland on Tuesday. The trip will be undertaken in a personal capacity, and he is not expected to meet with government officials.
In a Truth Social post, President-elect Trump said that he was "hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA'." The Republican attached a video that purportedly shows a Greenlander asking the U.S. to buy his country.
"If you could tell Trump anything, what would it be?" a woman is heard asking the man in the video.
"Buy us. Buy Greenland," the man, who was wearing a MAGA hat, replied.
The Greenlander then added that he "loved Americans" and wanted to be free of the Danish government.
"We don't want to be colonized by Danish government anymore," he explained. "We get ripped [off] every year [with] our minerals from Greenland. We are the richest nation in the world. And we don't get to use it. Denmark's using us too much."
In his message, Trump confirmed that he plans to visit Greenland in the near future and that his son, Donald Trump, Jr., will be in the country soon. The president-elect said that he plans to see some of the island's "most magnificent areas and sights."
"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation," Trump wrote on Monday. "We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"
Trump's latest post comes two weeks after he first made headlines by expressing support for U.S. ownership of Greenland.
"[F]or purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity," the president-elect's Truth Social post read.
In response, Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede declared interest in his country gaining independence from Denmark.
"The upcoming new election period must, together with the citizens, create these new steps, based on the foundations that have already been created," Egede said. "It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be."
Trump has considered purchasing Greenland for several years now. In 2019, he floated the idea of buying Greenland and called it "a large real estate deal."
"A lot of things can be done. It’s hurting Denmark very badly because they're losing almost $700 million a year carrying it," Trump said at the time. "So, they carry it at great loss, and strategically for the United States, it would be nice. And, we're a big ally of Denmark and we help Denmark, and we protect Denmark."
During a "Fox News Sunday" interview about Trump's remarks, then-White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow confirmed that the president's sentiment was genuine.
"Greenland is a strategic place up there, and they've got a lot of valuable minerals," Kudlow explained at the time.
"I don't want to predict an outcome. I’m just saying the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look."
Fox News' Nick Givas and Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.