Trump threats cast ominous shadow over icy fjords of Greenland

The sun is rising over the frozen mountains of Nuuk fjord and we are walking along the edge of the world’s last frontier.

But there are shadows gathering here and across the Greenland ice sheet.

It is Donald Trump to be the President of the United States, his refusing to stop the forced takeover of Greenland it is also coming through the island’s discussions.

“He’s welcome to visit of course,” says the captain of the converted fishing boat that takes us east. Knowing that he needs to do business with people of all political stripes, he asked not to be named, but used a phrase I’ve heard over and over here.

“Greenland belongs to Greenlanders. So, Trump can visit but that’s it.”

The water is calm as we head into the remote Kapisillit area – about 40 people – where a few hunters are going to shoot seals.

It’s -16C (3F), and the wind chill feels like -27C.

But near the harbor I meet the elder of the local church, Kaaleeraq Ringsted, a 73-year-old grandfather, who is outside drying cod caught in the fish-filled pond near his front door.

When I ask about President-elect Trump buying or invading Greenland, he laughs at first. Then his voice becomes serious.

“It is not acceptable for them to say this. Greenland is not for sale.”

Then he tells me how he learned to fish and hunt here with his father and grandfather, and how he wants to preserve this way of life for his children and grandchildren.

Crossing the bay, the ship bounced between broken ice. Two eagles perched on a rock, looking for fish in the clear water.

We went to the farm of Angutimmarik Hansen who raises sheep and hunts rabbits, wild birds and hares.

All of his winter lamb must be shipped from Denmark, a reminder of how the harsh climate defines the possibilities of life here.

Inside his door are hunting rifles. They see me looking at them.

“This is possible if there is a conspiracy,” he joked.

But his views on bellicose comments from Mar-A-Lago are not comfortable.

“What a stupid person in the world like Trump,” he says. “We will not sell Greenland.”

This small farm is located 4,828 kilometers from Florida where the incoming US president gave his embarrassing press conference last week.

“But Trump is not the USA. We can work with the people of the USA,” says Hansen.

Trump’s results went into overdrive and Donald Trump Jr.’s arrival in Greenlandhot on the heels of his father’s announcements. He flew to the capital of Nuuk on the family’s 737 plane – Trump Force One – and stayed for four hours and thirty-three minutes, meeting with the local people and giving respectful comments.

“It’s been great to meet people, and people were happy to meet us,” he said, after lunch at a hotel. “Dad needs to come here.”

Then it returned to the Florida mountains.

Trump Jr was welcomed by local businessman Jorgen Boassen, who once campaigned for the President-elect.

He told local reporters that he was a “big fan” of Trump and that “of course they are interested in our country, and they are welcome to come and see what our country is like. I am also about opening trade and cooperation.”

The city of Nuuk is the northernmost capital city in the world. It has a developed team and a powerful press. And there is a sense of satisfaction here that Trump’s comments have given Greenland’s independence debate an international dimension.

There should be a Greenland that is not a colony for anyone, say campaigners like Kuno Fencker, MP with the governing coalition and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee in Parliament.

We meet at the port, under the bronze statue of Hans Egede, the 18th century missionary who is widely seen here as the man who opened the way for colonization.

“Donald Trump is a politician,” Fencker said.

“He is a hard-working businessman, and we know his words, and his words we have been used to since 2019, and it is just a matter of talking to our friend, partner, how we can solve things here in the Arctic and also in NATO.”

Mr. Fencker presents the central argument of the proponents of independence.

“The important thing here is that Greenland as an independent country should negotiate directly with the United States and not Denmark for us.”

Independence from Denmark would come at a high financial cost.

Greenland receives aid from Copenhagen for about a fifth of its GDP each year. Mr. Fencker suggests, like other leaders here, that the island should negotiate with America and Denmark to help.

“We are not ignorant of this. We need help in security, safety, and economic development. We want a stable and self-reliant economy.”

The editor of Sermitsiaq’s local newspaper, Maasana Egede, admits that he was worried about Donald Trump’s threats, but wants to see how reality matches the words.

On the issue of independence, Mr. Egede is frustrated by what he sees as the controversy that takes place in the media – in this country and in other countries.

“We’re talking a lot about whether it should be independent or not. But there’s this whole issue in the middle, that people want independence, but not at any cost. There’s a life that needs to be preserved. There’s a business that needs to be taken care of.

There is hope that at some point – not soon – there will be a vote in favor and Denmark will accept the result.

The island’s Prime Minister, Mute Egede, spoke at a press conference with Denmark’s Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, following Donald Trump’s recent comments.

“We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American, we want to be Greenlandic,” he said. The Danish prime minister was careful not to upset anyone, not even the incoming US president.

“The debate about Greenlandic independence and the recent announcements from the US show us great interest in Greenland,” he said. “Events that caused many thoughts and feelings in Greenland and Denmark.”

Ms Frederiksen is well aware of the deep feelings of Greenland. Inuit people still remember injustice and racism.

Bad things like the campaign to insert IUDs (intrauterine devices) to prevent pregnancy among thousands of Inuit women and girls in the 1960s and 70s, strained relations between Greenland and Denmark.

It is unclear how many of these procedures were carried out without the consent of those involved, but the numbers are high. His goal was to reduce the population of Greenland.

Maliina Abelsen is a former minister of finance in the government of Greenland, and is now a consultant for companies and organizations working on the island. He also works for UNICEF Denmark and leads Greenlandic businesses, such as the vegetable group, Royal Greenland.

Ms. Abelsen believes that more needs to be done to address past injustices.

“I think a lot of people are saying, maybe the Danish government and the government has said, ‘Oh, you know this happened in the past. This was many years ago. How are we going to be responsible for this? Time to move on.’

“But you can’t go on if you haven’t healed, and if you haven’t accepted what happened to you. This is a job we have to do together with Denmark, not something Greenland can do on its own.”

And despite her high reputation in the social and business sectors, Maliina Abelsen says that when it comes to racism – for example the jokes about the Inuit people – “she can speak for many Greenlanders, that we have all experienced this in our lives”.

The issues of independence and confronting the past are closely related.

Now the intervention of Donald Trump has put everything before the world.

But the message we heard – from remote villages in the fjord to the capital Nuuk – is that the future of Greenland must be decided here, among people whose voices have been ignored for too long.

With additional reporting by Adrienne Murray and Kostas Kallergis.