In a bold statement that has captured international attention, Greenland's Prime Minister, Múte Egede, declared that the Arctic island territory has no desire to become part of the United States. Amid ongoing discussions about Greenland’s strategic importance and resources, Egede made it clear that despite offers in the past—most notably from President-elect Donald Trump, who expressed interest in purchasing Greenland—the nation's people have no interest in becoming Americans. I reported more on the potential purchase here.
During an interview with Fox News this week, Egede said that his country's residents do not “want to be Danes,” Americans, or part of the United States. However, he said that his nation wants “strong cooperation with the U.S.”
His comments come after Trump has floated the idea of purchasing Greenland for national security purposes.
“You have approximately 45,000 people there. People really don’t even know if Denmark has any legal right to it. But if they do, they should give it up because we need it for national security. That’s for the free world. I’m talking about protecting the free world. You look at, you don’t even need binoculars. You look outside, you have China ships all over the place. You have Russian ships all over the place. We’re not letting that happen,” Trump said about the potential purchase.
When asked about his thoughts on Trump’s remarks, Egede said that Greenland “will always be part of NATO. We will always be a strong partner for the US.”
“We are close neighbors, we have been cooperating in the last 80 years, and I think the future have a lot to offer to cooperate with, but we want to also be clear,” he continued, adding that maintaining a U.S. military presence in the country would be part of that cooperation.
“It’s a really important military base, especially for all of us in the North American continent, and especially for your national security, and your national security is our security,” Egede said. “We are open to discuss … how to defend our country, your country, all the Arctic, all the North American countries, and all the Western Alliances.”
This comes on the heels of Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introducing the Make Greenland Great Again Act. This proposal urges Congress to authorize negotiations with Denmark for the United States to acquire Greenland.