Trump Jr arrives in Greenland amid father's interest in seizing the island

Donald Trump Jr arrived in Greenland on Tuesday amid a controversy sparked by his father, US President-elect Donald Trump.

Trump has expressed on numerous occasions his desire to acquire the North Atlantic territory and bring it under US ownership. The incoming US president has floated the idea of purchasing the island from Denmark, a proposal that was swiftly and harshly rejected by Copenhagen, who stressed that Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland, and that the land is not for sale.

After Trump Jr’s arrival in Greenland, Donald Trump added to the controversy. In a press conference at his Florida Mar-a-Lago estate, just two weeks before he assumes the presidency for his second term, Trump doubled down, expressing his continued interest in seizing control of the land under the Danish crown for reasons of national security.

Trump, who’s set to be inaugurated on 20 January, has even refused to rule out the use of military force to achieve his objective.

Responding to a reporter asking him to provide guarantees that military and economic coercion methods would not be used to seize Greenland and the Panama Canal, which Trump is also eyeing, he said “I can't assure you. You're talking about Panama and Greenland. No, I can't assure you either of those two. But I can say this: we need them for economic security. We need 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," Trump added.

"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,” he concluded.

Denmark has staunchly rejected the premise of ceding control of Greenland since the controversy first sparked some weeks ago. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reaffirmed that position saying, “Greenland is for the Greenlandic people”. The Danish premier added that the US is their “absolute closest ally” in all matters security and defence, but maintained that Copenhagen’s position will not waver.

Trump has even threatened to “tariff Denmark at a very high level” if it does not cooperate with his bid to purchase the island.

Trump Jr, who flew into the capital Nuuk on his father’s private plane, was received by journalists who questioned the intent of his visit.

Many believed Trump Jr was sent to Greenland by his father to potentially meet with officials, carry out secret tasks or gather information that could be of use to Trump if he ever follows through on his threats.

Trump Jr denied those speculations and insisted that his visit – with some of his friends – is merely personal, and he comes to Greenland in a tourist-only capacity.

“We’re just here as tourists, seeing it, looks like an incredible place, we’ve been talking about going for a while, I was actually supposed to be here last spring with some of the stuff I do in my free time. But just really excited to be here, awesome country, the scenery coming in was just spectacular so just very excited to be here. Thank you,” said Trump Jr in response to a reporter questioning the intent of his visit. 

Trump Jr and his travel companions were in a rush to leave Nuuk airport, refusing to address the concerned media. “We’re a little pressed for time because we only have a couple hours of daylight so we’ve got to see everything”.

On their way out, a reporter repeatedly questioned Trump Jr if he had any message to relay from his father, to which Trump Jr responded, “He says hello … we were talking to him yesterday, so he says hello to everyone in Greenland”.

Trump Jr is not scheduled to stay long on the island. Prior to his arrival, officials in Greenland say they were notified about the visit to ensure appropriate security precautions were taken at the airport. They say the plans they received suggested the visit was a relatively short one, only lasting between four and five hours.