The truth behind Trump’s bold bid for Greenland: China, rare minerals, space … and why it’s ‘not a joke’

Donald Trump made clear on Tuesday that he was dead serious about his intentions for the arid Arctic territory of Greenland, saying he would not rule out the use of force to take control of the icy island.

It was a sobering reminder that Trump has expressed his interest in Danish dependency since at least 2019.

And insiders say what once seemed like a joke is actually a matter of vital national security that the president-elect has preoccupied for years.

Consider it the start of a Trump doctrine that prioritizes security in the Western Hemisphere, said his former National Security Council chief of staff Alex Gray.

“The comments about Greenland are not a joke at all, and neither are the comments about Panama,” he said, referring to another of Trump’s ideas to reclaim the Panama Canal.

“They reflect this larger return to a foreign policy that was really rooted in the traditions of the Republic, and a focus on the Western Hemisphere, and a concept we call Hemispheric Defense, the Monroe Doctrine, which is deeply rooted in our history .’

Greenland is located in a prime strategic location, along the shortest route between North America and Europe.

It already houses a US military base, the Pituffik Space Base.

And in recent years, Washington has taken a closer look at its rich mineral resources. Rare earth mineral deposits in particular could be a game changer for American green technologies.

Take into account the global competition from China.

‘This has become very serious. It’s not a joke anymore,” said Zhiqun Zhu, professor of political science and international relations at Bucknell University. “As opposed to turning Canada into the 51st state.”

Part of that is minerals, he added, another part is fear that China could make a deal with Denmark to use Greenland somehow.

‘China has become more actively involved in the Arctic in recent years. So I think this great power competition has actually already extended into the Arctic.”

What started as an eccentricity on Trump’s part in 2019 has now been adopted by part of the Republican Party.

Trump revisited the idea last month, describing U.S. control of Greenland as an “absolute necessity.” On Monday, he posted on his Truth Social platform: “Make Greenland Great Again.”

A day later, he was asked at a press conference whether he would rule out using military or economic coercion to take Greenland or the Panama Canal (another expansionist pet project of Trump’s).

“No, I can’t tell you for sure about either of these,” he said. “But I can say this: We need them for economic security.”

It’s tempting to think that the idea is just Trump being Trump, the real estate billionaire operating the only way he knows how: seeing foreign policy as a series of land deals.

But the story behind his interest is perhaps even more bizarre, albeit one rooted in strong national security arguments and more than a century of history.

The idea originally came from Ronald S. Lauder, the New York cosmetics heir and Trump’s friend since college.

“A friend of mine, a really, really experienced businessman, thinks we can get Greenland,” Mr. Trump told his national security adviser, according to an account in “The Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021” by Peter Bakker and Susan Glasser. ‘What do you think?’

As a result, a team of experts started investigating the idea. It recommended a range of options, including a lease agreement like Trump would be familiar with from real estate deals in New York.

Civil servants were sworn to secrecy for fear that the idea would leak and their boss would be ridiculed. Still, the task took months of their time.

“I like maps,” Trump later told the authors. “And I always said, ‘Look at the size of this. It’s huge. That should be part of the United States.’

In fact, American interest in the world’s largest island goes back more than a century.

Washington has made several attempts to purchase the territory of Denmark since 1867 (as it did in 1917 with the Danish West Indies – now the US Virgin Islands – for $25 million).

In 1868, “A Report on the Resources of Greenland and Iceland” led Secretary of State William H. Seward to say that there was a case for purchasing both from Denmark. But a deal to pay for $5.5 million in gold never quite materialized.

Declassified documents show that in 1946 the Truman administration went a step further and made an offer of $100 million in gold bars for Greenland.

The Danish response is not recorded, but the US has managed to build air bases on the island – the biggest concern.

This time the Danish response is clear. Greenland is absolutely not for sale.

But the area has only grown in strategic importance as China expands its efforts in the Arctic and finds new uses for its mineral reserves.

Rare earth minerals, such as cerium and lanthanum, play a key role in some of today’s most advanced devices, making everything from smartphones and MRI machines to electric cars and batteries for green technologies work efficiently.

Experts say the US lags far behind China in rare earth mineral production and has been a leader in the field since the 1990s.

“To talk aggressively about Greenland in this way is to obscure the fact that Washington has really dropped the ball here,” said a diplomatic source.

Last month, Beijing removed export controls on such minerals after the US banned the export of certain advanced semiconductors to China.

And the issue could become even more important if Trump takes office on January 20 with plans to increase tariffs on Chinese imports.

“China has large quantities of rare materials and will likely use them as a weapon against the United States if Trump raises tariffs again,” Zhiqun said.

“From Trump’s perspective, Greenland can probably serve as a kind of counterbalance to offset any negative consequences.”