President Donald Trump's obsession with acquiring Greenland from Denmark appears to be blowing up in his face, The New York Times reported on Monday.
"His decision, announced this weekend, to send a high-powered U.S. delegation to the island, apparently uninvited, is already backfiring," wrote Jeffrey Gettleman and Maya Tekeli. "The administration tried to present it as a friendly trip, saying that Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President JD Vance, would attend a dogsled race this week with one of their sons and that Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, would tour an American military base."
However, the authors wrote, "Trump seems to have overplayed his cards — big time."
Greenlandic officials — who saw a similar type of visit from Donald Trump Jr. shortly before the president took office — didn't buy this.
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Already, politicians on the island put out a statement decrying the "aggressive" efforts to take over the island's politics.
And Copenhagen-based political analyst Lars Trier Mogensen had a blunt reaction: “This will clearly have the opposite effect of what the Americans want. This offensive pushes Greenland further away from the U.S., even though a year ago, all parties in Greenland were looking forward to more business with the Americans.”
U.S. interest in acquiring Greenland, a Danish-held territory that is rich in natural resources and occupies a militarily strategic area necessary for security against Russia, dates back to the 19th century. However, it was largely quelled after the formation of the NATO alliance, as Denmark allowed the U.S. to establish a military base for Cold War security and beyond.
Trump, who has frequently disparaged the usefulness of NATO, has revived the push, though Denmark has made clear it has no interest in selling the territory to the U.S. and has responded to Trump's obsession by ramping up security investment on the island.
Meanwhile, the renewed interest from America has kicked off further debate within Greenland itself about a timeline for full independence from Denmark, but even pro-independence Greenlanders are more interested in seeking strategic concessions from the U.S. than being annexed or purchased.
