Trump Says The U.S. Will Take Control of Greenland ‘One Way or The Other’
US president Donald Trumps speech Tuesday March 4, was the longest to a joint Congress ever. (Photo: The White House)
President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the United States would take control of Greenland “one way or the other,” making it clear that he is not planning on letting go of the self-governing Danish territory.
The United States will acquire Greenland “one way or the other,” President Donald Trump said in a speech late Tuesday, after pointing out the island’s right to self-determination.
It was during joint session of Congress in Washington, Trump addressed the people of Greenland saying he had “a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland.”
“We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.”
The message came about halfway through his 90-minute speech.
New hights
Trump then added: “We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we're working with everybody involved to try and get it … And I think we're going to get it one way or the other. We're going to get it.”
Trump also pledged to Greenlanders that America would “keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”
About 85 percent of Greenlanders oppose the idea of becoming part of the United States, according to a January poll.
Military security
Trump ended the Greenland plea with: “It’s a very small population, but a very, very large piece of land. And very, very important for military security,” the president concluded, before moving on to a separate topic.
In January, his eldest son Donald Trump, Jr. made a suprise visit to Greenland’s capital Nuuk, where he filmed video for a podcast.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has described Trump’s call for the U.S. to purchase the territory as “absurd,” while Greenland’s pro-independence Prime Minister Múte Egede said his people “don’t want to be Americans.”
Trump’s interest in Greenland is part of a broader national security strategy focused on countering Russian and Chinese power in the Arctic Circle.
