Analysts say the plan has been under discussion for a long time and should not be seen as a direct response to Trump’s comments.
They say Denmark has so far been too slow to expand its military capacity in Greenland, but if the country is unable to protect the waters surrounding the region against encroachments by China and Russia, US demands for more control are likely to grow.
Army Major Sten Kjærgaard of the Danish Defense Academy suggests that Trump’s intention may have been to pressure Denmark to take such a step.
“This is likely to be caused by Trump’s renewed focus on the need for air and sea control around Greenland and developments internally in Greenland with some expressing a will to look towards the US – a new international airport in Nuuk has just opened,” he told the BBC.
“I think Trump is smart… he’s getting Denmark to prioritize its military capabilities in the Arctic by raising that voice, without having to take on a very un-American welfare system,” he added, referring to Greenland’s heavy reliance on support from Copenhagen.
Trump’s original proposal in 2019 that the United States take control of Greenland, the world’s largest island, drew a similarly sharp rebuke from leaders there.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen at the time called the idea “ridiculous,” prompting Trump to cancel an official trip to the country.
He is not the first US president to propose buying Greenland. The idea was first proposed during the 1860s under President Andrew Johnson.
