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Donald Trump Jr. plans to visit Greenland two weeks after his father reiterated his desire for the US to take control of the island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
The son of the US president-elect plans to record a video for a podcast during a one-day private visit, according to US media.
Donald Trump reignited controversy in December when he said that “possession and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for US national security.
He previously expressed interest in buying Arctic territory during his first term as president. In both cases, Greenland’s leaders denied Trump.
“We are not for sale and we will not be sold,” the island’s Prime Minister Mute Egede said in December. “Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland.”
Greenland is on the shortest route from North America to Europe, making it strategically important for the US. It is also home to a large US space complex.
The president-elect’s eldest son has played a key role during the 2024 US election campaign, making frequent appearances at rallies and in the media.
But he will not go to Greenland on behalf of his father’s new administration, according to the Danish Foreign Ministry.
“We drew attention to the planned visit of Donald Trump Jr. to Greenland. As this is not an official American visit, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no comment on the visit,” the ministry told BBC News.
Hours after President-elect Trump’s latest intervention, the Danish government announced a significant increase in Greenland’s defense spending. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called the timing of the announcement “ironic.”
On Monday, King Frederik X of Denmark changed the royal coat of arms to more prominently feature Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Some see it as a rebuke to Trump, but it could also spark a row with Greenland’s separatist movement.
King Frederik used his New Year’s address to say that the Kingdom of Denmark was united “all the way to Greenland”, adding that “we belong together”.
But Greenland’s prime minister used his own New Year’s speech to push for independence from Denmark, saying the island must free itself from the “shackles of colonialism”.
Trump is not the first US president to offer to buy Greenland. The idea was first voiced by the nation’s 17th president, Andrew Johnson, in the 1860s.
Especially in recent weeks, Trump threatened to regain control of the Panama Canalone of the most important waterways of the world. He accused Panama of charging exorbitant fees to access it.
The president of Panama responded by saying that “every square meter” of the canal and the surrounding area belongs to his country.
