Forum Topic

For Trump Or Greenland, Ms Hammond?

Question posed (to me) by DA about a week ago but I forgot to post my answer at the time.Apologies for opening a new thread but DA changes the title of threads so much I could not trace the original thread when he asked me this question: “For Trump or Greenland, Ms Hammond?”Both actually.   How much would it be to buy Greenland?  Impossible to evaluate so it’s a moot point. However Trump has expressed a strong intent to colonise Greenland and make the island(s) part of the US.  Should this happen it would be an amazing result for Trump’s presidential legacy and as such I am sure that he/US would pump many $millions into Greenland’s economy to improve its infrastructure.  I even read that Trump would ‘gift’ each resident several thousand dollars to ease their transition.  Is this a bribe?   Possibly, but what’s not to like?  If I I was a Greenlander I would much prefer to live under the protection of the US with its enormous military might, than the disjointed EU and its mythical army that hasn’t evolved despite Brussels talking about it for at least 6 years.However I recognise the argument that Greenland should be the arbiter of its own destiny so the Greenlanders should be able decide what they want. So am I sitting on the fence à la Starmer?

Sue Hammond ● 283d22 Comments

Hello Sue,"So am I sitting on the fence à la Starmer?"I am afraid you are!But, more importantly, Greenland is not a bit of Trump's beloved real estate.  Greenlanders are very happy as they are.  The supposed invasion by Russia or China is just a pretext.  Then, yesterday, after agreeing to the Chagos Islands agreement in May 2025, Trump says he wants to Greenland in response to the terrible UK agreement with Chagos Islands.  ???? Diego Garcia will continue to host UK and USA forces.  But surprise, suprise, Trump now wants to buy Chagos Islands.....

Ivonne Holliday ● 283d

I think he said in his Davos speech he wouldn't take Greenland by force? (Unfortunately I lost concentration, was busy fact checking his inaccurate statement about China not using wind energy!https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattrandolph/2026/01/12/china-does-in-fact-have-wind-turbines-a-lot-of-them/ )

Michael Ixer ● 283d

It may be, Sue, that if you were a Greenlander, you would welcome annexation by America, but the fact is that the Greenlanders themselves have clearly stated that they don’t want to be annexed.

Steven Rose ● 283d

Yes but who is going to protect it.  NATO and for how long?This is the new world order l think is happening eg US/China/Russia.  The shifts of thinking are changing rapidly and the old way of doing things is rapidly changing whether any of us want it to.

Robert Wheeler ● 283d

Trump says he want Greenland for his Golden Dome to protect the world, plus he has to own it as who wants to protect a place they dont own. Well, the US has bases around the world which they lease and if the Golden Dome is to protect the world, surely that's protecting land he doesnt own?All that nonsense aside, what he really wants is ownership of Greenland's rare earth minerals

Adam Tripp ● 283d

I get it Steven, but now that Trump has categorically ruled out military action to take control of the islands, the residents, approximately 57,000, might be willing to negotiate a transitional agreement.  Especially if the terms are financially highly beneficial for the island, and for them.  Just thinking with my pragmatic head.

Sue Hammond ● 283d

Hello again Sue,What sort of "transitional agreement" do you have in mind?The US already has an agreement, since the 1950s, that they can have military bases in Greenland - and there is no maximum indicated.

Ivonne Holliday ● 283d

Hello Ivonne.  The military bases have been there for so long I do not think they would be relevant to, or part of, transitional talks now.  Obviously I have no idea what Trump would offer the Islanders but I would think he would negotiate a mutually beneficial deal for all parties.  It will be very interesting to hear what he comes up with.

Sue Hammond ● 283d

Wonderful display of acrobatics there, Ms H! Mind your back though. It is sad that music hall no longer exists as a home for such acts.

David Ainsworth ● 283d

One very powerful reason why the locals like the status quo is their full access to the Danish healthcare system. It will take a huge amount of dosh to shift that view. Personally I think Trump should accept some joint military force under the Nato banner with US participation that will be able to protect the territory. The Canadians would be very happy to support that but it requires international cooperation which Trump clearly doesn’t like. His “negotiating” style is straight out of the New York mafia playbook. It sucks, as the New Yorkers might say. As someone who has seen the NY real estate market up close I can see exactly where this comes from. As for global power blocs, yes there are three obvious ones, the US, Russia and China, but where does that leave Europe?  Or the Middle East or India for that matter? I think we can probably all agree Europe collectively needs to gear up its defences and very much more quickly than they are doing right now, Poland excepted. If Europe can no longer rely on the US security umbrella there is no alternative. And the military threat to Europe lies to the east. What I don’t understand is Trump’s antipathy towards Europe. After all it’s a huge trading partner of the US, there are, even now, a range of shared values, but he is doing everything he can to alienate the whole continent. Even the US needs friends and this is no way to treat them. Who gains from the current stand off?  Yes, you’ve guessed it, Russia and China. Nobody else.

Jonathan Callaway ● 283d

The People of Greenland have long known how to deal with ice, but will they now have to deal with ICE?"Based on available public records, news reports, and statements, there is no indication that Donald Trump has ever acknowledged or discussed the fact that the Inuit are originally from Siberia.""Critics and Greenlandic Inuit have argued that Trump's approach "wholly disregards" the history and sovereignty of the indigenous Inuit population."  (AI)

David Ainsworth ● 283d

Trump's speech was rambling, repetitive and incoherent: listening to it today, it was impossible not to conclude that the man has serious mental issues. And although he said that he wouldn't use force to grab Greenland, he's so volatile that it would be very unwise to rely on this.

Richard Carter ● 283d

Final thought: read or listen to Mark Carney’s brilliant speech. Don’t waste time on Trump’s meandering “weave”.  And in all this, what about Ukraine? Still getting bombed by Russia who are trying to destroy the country’s power grid while it’s minus 20C. But I seriously doubt they will freeze or terrorise them into submission, despite the suffering. Can Trump be relied on to support a peace deal that is in any way acceptable to Ukraine?  I fear I know the answer.

Jonathan Callaway ● 283d

@ JonathaThankyou for your well reasoned response.

Sue Hammond ● 283d

@DA 16.32Ridiculous comment🙄

Sue Hammond ● 283d

Trumps apathy towards Europe is purely down to under funding of NATO and this constant criticism of Americans when they defend Europe.  Why on earth would he want to.  Poland has woken up but I feel Brussels collectively are still asleep.Putin is clearly aware of this as is Zelenskyy.

Robert Wheeler ● 283d

Ah, I understand why he's so keen to get hold of Greenland, from part of the Golden Dome Wikipedia entry and the communications to the systems satellites ..."Pituffik is uniquely suited for these optical (laser) downlinks because it sits in a polar desert, offering exceptionally low precipitable water vapor. This creates an atmospheric window for reliable V-band and laser transmission, which are otherwise attenuated by moisture in temperate zones—thereby enabling the massive data backhaul required to "close the kill chain" for Golden Dome's hypersonic interceptors.[90] A 2025 USNORTHCOM modernization study consequently prioritized a new Network Operations Center at Pituffik to handle this throughput.[91][92] Complicating U.S. dominance, the European Space Agency (ESA) began construction of its own optical ground station in Greenland in late 2025, creating a rival infrastructure capable of terabyte-speed data transfer that bypasses U.S. networks.[90] Finally, the site is logistically essential for the Golden Dome’s low-orbit interceptors that suffer high atmospheric drag and require continuous replenishment.[93] Some strategic analyses speculate that Arctic basing could, in theory, support higher-latitude launch and tracking operations, though no such launch infrastructure currently exists in Greenland." [Ref: Wikipedia]But perhaps just a sovereign base area could be negotiated? Seems to work ok at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, where the US has a perpetual lease from Cuba - and Greenland is a lot friendlier towards the US. (Well, it was.)Must find out what ESA are doing in Greenland ...

Michael Ixer ● 283d

"this constant criticism of Americans when they defend Europe."Please elucidate.

David Ainsworth ● 283d

Looks like Europe could be ahead of the US with ESA's development.  Is that what's really driving this - and Europe, as they need Greenland for ESA.

Michael Ixer ● 283d

Rushing again! https://thecritic.co.uk/space-lasers-over-kangerlussuaq/

Michael Ixer ● 283d

Wow, that is quite something.Thank you for the information, Michael.

Ivonne Holliday ● 283d

Actually I seem to remember Trump describing the EU as basically a plot to rip off the USA so that must be part of it. But we also know he hates multilateral agreements of all sorts so the UN, the WTO, possibly also Nato, are all out of the window. And we also know he respects only strength, not obeisance, hence he keeps reverting to blaming Zelensky for Russia’s invasion. A weird form of logic but pretty terrifying for Ukrainians.

Jonathan Callaway ● 283d