Trump Administration Continues its Efforts to Annex Greenland

By Jack Levy, Staff Writer.

Last month, Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance visited Greenland. The Vice President and his wife’s visit was part of the Trump Administration’s ongoing effort to annex Greenland.

Currently, Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. In 1953, Greenland, previously a Danish colony, was fully integrated into Denmark.

President Donald Trump has said the United States (US) needs Greenland for national security reasons, citing how the island’s strategic position in the Arctic would be necessary during a war with Russia.

NPR reports that during his visit, Vice President Vance said, “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland. You have underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass filled with incredible people.”

Danish politicians have responded by maintaining that Greenland is not for sale. However, Denmark has agreed to increase defense spending in Greenland. Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen released a video in response to Vance’s visit, emphasizing Denmark’s openness to an increased US military presence in Greenland while maintaining the importance of Greenlanders to determine their sovereignty.

President Trump’s ambitions with Greenland have also drawn criticism from other world leaders. Associated Press states that the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, argued, “The principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country.”

The ambition of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member to annex a sovereign territory is unprecedented. While many agree with Trump’s national security concerns in the Arctic, many do not believe the United States has any justification to annex another country’s territory.

Senior finance major Jake Shaw agrees with Trump’s national security concerns but disagrees with a total annexation of Greenland. 

 “During WWII, Greenland was used strategically by the United States, and it would probably need to be used again if there was another major war. But Greenland has its autonomy. They’ve said they were going to let us build more military bases there already, which is good, but we realistically don’t have any right to just walk into Greenland and take it,” he said.

Senior business administration major Mike McGurk believes the United States must have military influence on Greenland.

 “Whether or not Greenland becomes a US territory, we need to have defense infrastructure there in case of war. Greenland just isn’t big enough (population-wise) to defend itself. They already agreed to let us build up our military presence there,” McGurk said. “The wars around the world today have unfortunately shown us that war can still happen, and I think the US and all of our allies are going to step up to be ready for war.”

According to The Times, President Trump has insisted that the US must have Greenland and said at his joint address to Congress in March that “one way or another we’re going to get it.”

In addition to Greenland, President Trump has announced his desire for the US to control the Panama Canal, potentially annex Canada, and even take control of the Gaza Strip.

Most Greenlanders have not expressed support for President Trump’s plans, and Vice President Vance’s visit to Greenland was met with protests.

A poll conducted by a Danish newspaper, The Berlingske, showed that 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose Greenland becoming part of the US, while 84 percent of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark.

“If the United States were to annex Greenland, it would be a violation of their autonomy. They overwhelmingly don’t want to become part of the United States, and that would cause problems of its own if we were to annex them,” Shaw said.

If the US were to annex Greenland, it would be its first expansion of territory since 1947, when it took control of the Mariana Islands in the Pacific.