Donald Trump Jr. is set to visit Greenland on Tuesday, just weeks after his father, US President-elect Donald Trump, ruffled feathers by reiterating his desire to take control of the autonomous Danish territory.
In a Truth Social post on Monday, the president-elect confirmed that his son would be traveling to the island with “various representatives” to “visit some of the most magnificent areas and sights” and reiterated his desire to take over the vast Arctic territory.
“I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA’,” he wrote in the post, referring to his campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again.”
“Greenland is a fantastic place, and its people will benefit greatly if and when it becomes part of our country. We will protect and cherish it from a very cruel outside world. “Make Greenland Great Again!” he posted.
Earlier Monday, Denmark’s foreign ministry told CNN that it had “noted” the trip but would not comment further because it was not a “official American visit.”
The ministry’s statement came after Reuters quoted the island’s permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Mininnguaq Kleist, as saying the trip was a “private visit.” According to a source, the trip was for one day to shoot video footage for a podcast.
CNN has reached out to Trump’s transition team for comment.
Last month, the US president-elect made headlines when he resurfaced his desire for the territory, calling it a “absolute necessity” for “purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world.”
He had previously proposed purchasing Greenland from Denmark during his first term as president, but the idea was rejected by the island’s government, which stated at the time that it was “not for sale.”
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede responded to the US president-elect’s comments on Facebook in December by reiterating that the island was “not for sale and will never be for sale,” while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office, which called Trump’s first-term suggestion that Greenland could be purchased “absurd,” echoed Egede.
“As far as statements about Greenland, the Prime Minister’s Office has no comments other than reference to what was stated by the premier of Greenland about Greenland not being for sale, but open for cooperation,” according to the office.
Trump is not the first American leader to express a desire to control Greenland, which is home to Thule Air Base, the US military’s northernmost base, located approximately 750 miles above the Arctic Circle and built in 1951.
Though President Harry Truman avoided questions about his pursuit of regional control, the United States allegedly attempted to buy Greenland in 1946, and Secretary of State William Seward expressed an interest in purchasing the island in 1867.
According to Reuters, Greenland’s prime minister increased his call for independence from Denmark in a recent New Year’s speech, saying the country should break free from “the shackles of colonialism.”
Egede, however, did not mention the United States.
