American Greenland May Be Much Closer Than You Think

If Greenlanders hate the idea of being American so much, why did they expel leftists from power in this week's election and install pro-American parties?

On March 4, 2025, in his address to a joint session of the United States Congress, President Donald Trump had the following to say about the Danish territory of Greenland:

We need it really for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.

This, in the shot/chaser terminology, set up the initial volley uttered by Greenland’s Prime Minister Bourup Egede, not yet half Trump’s age:

Kalaallit Nunaat is ours. We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland.

For the chaser, a devastating blow against Egede and his coalition:

Tuesday’s elections in Greenland had what were described as “dramatic and unexpected results” by Breitbart:

The present Greenland government is a coalition of the largest party, the left-wing Inuit Ataqatigiit, and the second-largest, the centre-left Siumut. Both parties are pro-independence but not especially friendly to America and certainly not to Donald Trump. Voters punished both parties, which have dominated Greenland politics since the 1970s, yesterday, falling from 12 seats to five and from ten to four, respectively.

Should they leave power now, which seems all but certain, it would be the first time in Greenland’s modern history that it hasn’t been governed by either Inuit Ataqatigiit or Siumut.

So – let’s get this straight, Greenlanders – your Prime Minister spouts off against King Kong and exclaims that despite his island facing many fiscal and economic challenges, especially if ever separated from the Danish teat – that they absolutely, positively don’t want to have anything to do with the most powerful nation on earth, and one that is a North American semi-neighbor at that.

And then…

For the first time in modern history, in a supposedly independence-craving would-be nation used to freeloading off Denmark and the rest of the European Union, the people un-assed the parties perpetually in power. Most would now consider me an expert on U.S. electoral politics, and I am able to identify cause and effect while accurately deciphering our political trends by considering numerous factors. I most certainly do not qualify as an expert on European partisan loyalty, or Greenlandic civic life; however, it doesn’t take an expert in Viking naval navigation to understand that with a serious conversation brewing about America’s future relationship with Greenland as one of its territories or states (the latter is unlikely with a population of just 56,000), that the people telling the Prime Minister (now the outgoing Prime Minister) to stuff it means he and his ilk are on the wrong side of the picket line when it comes to Greenlandic-American relations.

Here's the reality. Greenland is a lot like Puerto Rico. It is filled with people who say they want independence, but when the prospect of unlatching from the benevolent parent nation’s political mammaries is brought into focus, the desire for independence goes away. Without Denmark, Greenland is simply a frozen island with an incredibly remote population with few natural connections, given the distance and maritime geography separating it from Europe and mainland North America, to be had for Greenlanders to benefit from. To make matters worse, without a turnaround, much of Western Europe is lost, with the lack of babies being born creating reliance on unskilled, third-world immigration and constant fiscal worries shrouding the future of the Old World in doubt.

Ignore the irony above with the leading party being dubbed Democrats (Demokraatit Demokraterne). The Greenlandic Democrats, and the second-place party, Naleraq, are both pro-independence. Naleraq is also known to emphasize a close relationship with the United States, which means Tuesday’s election makes Greenland’s conversion to American possession much more realistic than it was at the beginning of this week.

Putting on my military intelligence hat, which comes out from time to time, it is clear America and the people of Greenland (not necessarily the government) have mutually aligned interests. Greenland as an American possession would give us critical access to the Arctic, and further to the north than we can access through Alaska and would require the United States Navy to perform the important task of overseeing critical shipping channels through the Arctic region. We are falling behind China and Russia for Arctic dominance, and most key players in the foreign policy world not busy inflaming tensions worldwide realize this is a key to success in the 21^st century and beyond, much like stakes in the New World were critical for European nations in the 16^thcentury.

The Greenlandic people are clearly open to the idea of being American, because with so much attention on Trump’s continuous Canadian and Greenlandic commentaries, they would have delivered a stunning rebuke of pro-American parties at the polls if they were offended by these overtures. Here’s the deal – a lot of people there can read the tea leaves. If not for the safety net provided by nanny state Denmark, the desire for Greenlandic independence would be nearly unanimous.

My Western European readers, of which there are many, will sadly affirm that without sustained nationalist government leading their respective nations, Europe is in for a serious realignment and period of major upheaval that will limit their ability to handle overseas territories effectively. Greenlanders know this, and are staring straight down the barrel of the following choices:

· Ride out the storm with Denmark as parent nation, which they already don’t want to do. A January 25 Verian poll found that a whopping 84% of Greenlanders want independence from Denmark. The same poll expresses a nearly equal opposition to being part of the United States (whether as a state or territory), although Tuesday’s election results make me believe that number is quite a bit off the mark.