"It's Impossible to Buy Greenland!": Why 85% of Greenlanders Refuse to Hand Over the Island to US

Recently, Donald Trump expressed a desire to buy Greenland, but the residents of the icy island responded negatively to this proposal.

"It's impossible to buy Greenland!" declared Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, announcing an allocation of an additional $1.5 billion for the island's defense. However, the loudest outrage came from the Greenlanders themselves. Their response included a wave of memes featuring Trump dressed as a polar bear and a resolution from their parliament with the slogan "We are open for business, but not for colonizers 2.0."

The issue of sovereignty is critically important for Greenland. In a referendum on self-governance, 75% of the island’s residents voted for independence. In 2021, in defiance of Copenhagen, the island began independently extracting uranium.

In the 1950s, although the US was unable to purchase Greenland, they established the Thule Air Base on its territory. The presence of this base continues to exacerbate tensions between Greenlanders and the US. The Inuit people—a small but proud nation—do not want to live under Washington's influence.

Today, Greenland is trying to balance its desire for sovereignty with financial realities, as the island would struggle to survive without Danish subsidies. If Greenland were to become independent, who can guarantee that the US won’t offer protection in exchange for military bases in the future? The histories of Hawaii, Guam, and Puerto Rico teach us that the stars and stripes are not simply removed; they are added to maps.

Why does Trump want Greenland? Which countries, besides the US, are interested in the island’s riches hidden beneath centuries-old ice? What sum are the US willing to offer for the acquisition of these icy territories? And why is control over the Arctic and Greenland referred to as the "main geopolitical prize of the 21st century"? This and more will be discussed in the program "Clear Politics."