Why Greenland is 'ready' to work with Trump despite his plan to buy it from Denmark

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Greenland is 'ready' to work with Donald Trump even if they're not ready to become part of the United States.

'The reality is we are going to work with the U.S. — yesterday, today and tomorrow,'  Múte Egede, the premier of Greenland, said at a news conference in Nuuk, the island's capital.  

However, he also had words of caution. 

'We have to be very smart on how we act,' he said. 'The power struggles between the superpowers are rising and are now knocking on our door.'

Both Denmark and Greenland repeatedly have said the island is not for sale, despite Trump's repeated entrees to purchase it. The president-elect has not ruled out using force to take it, arguing it's a national security issue.

Greenland is strategically important and also home to many rare earth minerals important to technology. Denmark holds nominal sovereignty over the island, an arrangement dating back to colonial times.

Trump's words raised alarm in some sectors. Denmark and the United States are both members of the NATO alliance and have been allies going back to World War II.

Múte Egede, the premier of Greenland, said his country is ready to work with Donald Trump

However, incoming Vice President J.D. Vance dismissed Trump's threat of military force, when he spoke to Fox News Sunday, although he highlighted Greenland's strategic importance and its rich resources. 

Egede said Vance's words were reassuring. 

'It was worrying when we first heard it. But the vice president said yesterday that they have no interest in using weapons. Our interest is in cooperation,' Egede said. 

He did admit he was 'shocked' at Trump's threat, which came the same day the president-elect's eldest son Don Jr. made a surprising visit to the island. 

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Greenland, a former colony of Denmark since the 18th century, became a self-governing Danish territory in 1953. 

The island gained the right to declare independence through a public vote in 2009 — a move Egede strongly supports.

'We have a desire for independence, a desire to be the master of our own house … This is something everyone should respect,' he said. 'Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic.' 

Greenland's importance has increased in recent years as melting Arctic ice opens new shipping routes, sparking competition among global powers for influence in the strategically located region between the U.S. and Russia. 

The territory and its surrounding waters are also abundant in valuable natural resources such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements. Those are vital components in emerging green technologies, such as wind turbines and electric vehicles, energy storage technologies and national security applications.

Currently, Denmark retains responsibility for Greenland's defense. 

Greenland's leader, Múte Egede, expressed his willingness to engage in negotiations with President-elect Trump

In August 2019, reports of Trump considering purchasing Greenland sparked swift rejections from political leaders in Greenland and Denmark, some labeling the idea 'completely ridiculous' or a 'joke'

The president-elect originally floated the idea of acquiring Greenland in his first term in office when discussing the prospect with his senior advisers back in 2019. But he left office without making any movement toward acquiring the territory.

Now, with less than two weeks before he begins a second term, Trump is revisiting the idea.

The United States has been interested in Greenland for decades as has Russian, China and other European countries. 

Greenland controls Arctic shipping lanes and its extensive mineral resources that are no longer considered out of reach thanks to global warming melting the ice covering the land.

The United States tried - and failed - to buy Greenland after World War II. But it did establish the Pituffik Space Base at the northern end of the island.

At 836,000 square miles, Greenland is a scarcely populated, arctic autonomous territory of Denmark. When comparing it to the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867, it can be estimated that Greenland's total price would come out to approximately $230.25 million – though it's not likely the same metrics would be use to determine worth

Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland on Tuesday with three close Trump allies for what was initially being sold as a 'personal' trip. It soon became clear that his intentions are to further his father's intention to buy the arctic territory

Multiple politicians, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, sent a clear message to Trump: 'Greenland is not for sale.'

But if it were, how much would it cost the U.S.?

Some have said the best comparison is looking at the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. 

Both Alaska and Greenland have cold, arctic climates, similarly scarce population density, strategic geographic placement and a richness of oil reserves.

The U.S. purchased Alaska, which is 586,412 square miles, for $7.2 million. In today's dollars, that equates to around $153.5 million.

Greenland is about 150 percent the size of Alaska at 836,000 square miles. So by boosting that price by 50 percent, the total would come to approximately $230.25 million.

In examining past considerations for purchasing Greenland, history offers some intriguing comparisons. 

In 1946, the U.S. proposed buying the Arctic island for $100 million in gold, a sum that would equate to over $1.6 billion today.

Despite this valuation, both figures fall short of Greenland's gross domestic product, which stood at $3.24 billion USD in 2021.

For further context, the U.S. bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million in gold, equivalent to approximately $616.2 million today.

The Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 cost $15 million, roughly $418.8 million in today's terms. These historical transactions highlight the uncertainty around how much a Greenland purchase might cost, should such a deal ever be pursued.

The logistics of such a transaction remain complex. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress must approve any allocation of funds for land acquisition.

Even with a supportive Congress, whether they would back such a proposal is unclear.

When reports surfaced in August 2019 of then-President Trump considering the purchase of Greenland, political leaders in both Greenland and Denmark swiftly rejected the notion. Some dismissed it as 'completely ridiculous' or a 'joke.'