Consider This from NPR - The view from Greenland: 'We don't want to be Americans'

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

President Trump's calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland have sparked alarm and outrage.Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland's security, recently announced that it would further boost its defense spending.And a recent poll found 85 percent of Greenlanders are opposed to being part of the United States.Parliamentary candidate Naaja Nathanielsen is one of them.It isn't clear whether Trump's ambitions for Greenland will take. But some politicians in the territory are taking his calls for acquisition more seriously than ever before.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

President Donald Trump has had his eye on Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, since his first term. Trump says he wants the island for national security purposes. He and his allies point to Greenland's strategic location, as well as its reserves of rare earth minerals. The president's renewed interest has thrust the island and its roughly 57,000 residents into an intense geopolitical spotlight. Laila Sandgreen was born and raised in Alulisat, the small town that's one of Greenland's most popular tourist destinations. She and her husband run a tourism company there. We want to be Greenlanders. We don't want to be Americans. We don't want to be Danish.

We only want to be Greenlandic people. We want to be Inuit. So Greenland is not for sale. That notion that the people of Greenland don't want to be American and don't want to be Danish was one I heard over and over again on my recent reporting trip to the island. A recent poll from Danish and Greenlandic news outlets backs up that sentiment. It found that 85% of Greenlanders don't want to be part of the United States. We want to be independent.

So we are not for sale. This is Karen Kortsen. We met her in between appointments at the hair salon she opened six months ago in Alulisat. We are so isolated. We are not familiar with the military spaces or something like European or American. We're not used to it because we are very calm, so we are not so interested.

Greenlandic and Danish leaders have also told the U.S. that the territory is not for sale, and former lawmakers agree. I cannot understand how a democracy could breed the kind of power grabbing that we are seeing here. That's Okoluk Linga, a former member of Greenland's parliament. He spent years fighting for Greenland's right to self-determination. He believes that Greenland's future must be tied to Denmark.

We understand, and we have been understanding for the last 50 years. If Greenland secedes from Denmark, it will be taken by the United States. And where would we go? Most of us have voted in Denmark to go to. So, are we going to be thrown out of our homeland? We will never surrender to anyone. The island relies on Denmark for defense and security, but Greenland could declare independence

after a referendum. Jørgen Bosen is a Greenlandic fan of President Trump and had a hand in organizing an unofficial visit by Donald Trump Jr. in January. He welcomes more American involvement. I think the US is more welcome than to have a base, more bases here and have a military to protect U.S. and Greenland to Russia and China.

So I have no trouble with that. And I think we can make a deal of that when to have presence here in the future. Bowsen said he hopes that Greenland will enter a free association agreement with the U.S., where the U.S. gives economic assistance and provides for Greenland's defense. Consider this. It's not yet clear what shape, if any, Trump's ambitions for Greenland will take. But some politicians in the territory are taking his calls for acquisition more seriously than ever before.

From NPR, I'm Juana Sommers. This message comes from Wwise, the app for doing things in other currencies. Sending or spending money abroad, hidden fees may be taking a cut. With WISE, you can convert between up to 40 currencies at the mid-market exchange rate. Visit WISE.com. TNCs apply. It's Consider This from NPR. President Trump's calls for the U.S. to take over Greenland have sparked alarm and outrage. Denmark, which is responsible for Greenland's security, recently announced that it would further boost its defense spending.

Earlier this month, lawmakers on Capitol Hill held a hearing focused on Trump's ambitions. In Greenland, Naya Nathanaelsen was watching. She's running for parliament in next month's elections, and I met her at her office in Newk last week. On one wall next to her desk, a piece of art caught my eye. It's an illustration of the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, gavel in hand. On the lectern, the words, fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you. I started by asking Naya Nathanielsen for her reaction when she heard Trump's goal

to take over her country. She learned about it when she saw a post from Trump's Truth Social platform. Well, I read a social media post the 23rd of December. I actually took it much more serious and I think also I got this feeling that this is going to be something we're going to be debating for a long time. What was it about what he said and what he's been saying that made you take it more seriously? I think it was use of control and ownership, which had rendered a more serious vibe to it, if you will. And also, I think since then, I've seen more and more people come out with similar stances and different

suggestions, some in form of memes, some in form of social media posts, some in form of op-eds and in serious papers. Now latest Senate hearing, right? So I think it has degrees of seriousness to it now that it didn't have the last time around. I don't know how much of that Senate hearing you were able to see or digest, but what do you make of some of the arguments coming out of the states? There are a number of bills moving through our government suggesting authorizing the President Trump to go into negotiations to purchase Greenland, suggesting a recent bill

suggesting Greenland being renamed as red, white and blue land. What do you think when you hear that? Well, first of all, I watched the Senate hearing and I was quite offended by the idea that we are commodity for sale. People forget that we are actually a people. We are a people in our own right, with our own culture. We don't want to be Americans. That does not mean we don't want to trade with America

or have connections to America, but we are not Americans. So I think it's offending on many levels and shows a lack of insight also in diplomacy, I think it's offending on many levels and shows a lack of insight also in diplomacy, I think, because I don't believe in this bullying tactic. I don't think that's a way to gain true allies and true partnerships. And I think it's a very short-term way of trying to get your way. History has shown us that is not a way to obtain lasting peace. I think if President Trump or a member of his administration or an ally were sitting

here they'd make the case that the interest that the US has in Greenland is rooted in Arctic security and the strategic location of this island. What do you make of the security based argument? Of course the countries have had relationships for a long time. The United States has had and still has a military base here. What do you make of that? Well, we've been all along saying we have an over 80-year-long relationship with the U.S. and we do recognize we're part of the American interest fair in terms of national

security. And we've been pushing for many years now the idea to have more monitoring of the Arctic, both in submarine and in the air. So we don't oppose that. But again, it does not follow from that what we want to be American, or that the US needs ownership of Greenland to obtain these goals. It is absolutely possible without the use of force, or threats, or acquirement. I'm curious, what kind of relationship would you like to see between our two countries moving forward? We have that long, that decades long history. What is a way that there could be a relationship between Greenland and the US that benefits the Greenlandic people who live here? What would you say? I think just rewind like eight months, because we had a good relationship.

We had a memorandum of understanding that we wanted to expand on mineral exploration. And we also wanted to discuss further military presence in Greenland in terms of installations that could have dual use, so both benefiting military purposes, but also the people of Greenland. we had a good relationship, and we were positive towards both American investments and collaboration, and that has been pretty hard hit the last couple of months. You're saying we had a good relationship.

We had good opinions. That is in the past tense. Can you just paint a picture for us of what this has done for people here, for their views of Americans, for their views of the relationship with America? A lot of people are struggling to remind themselves that America also has good people, that we have friends in America, that America is an ally,

because frankly, the last couple of months have shown an America that is a bad ally, that is a bully, that doesn't respect our democracy, doesn't respect our government, that treat us as a commodity, that seems indifferent to bully that doesn't respect our democracy, that doesn't respect our government, that treat us as a commodity, that seems indifferent to what the Greenlandic people want. And that is both hurtful and frightening because we are a microstate. We are such a small population. We totally rely on a good relationship with a big partner. So for us, it has really damaged,

I think, our relationship. And I think it's very sad because we have so much to gain from each other. I think it was an open door. There was absolutely no barriers towards American interest into Greenland just a couple of months ago. That was Naya Nathanielsen. She's running for parliament and has served as minister of business, trade, mineral resources, justice, and gender equality in the Greenlandic government. This episode was produced by Matt Ozug, Vincent Accovino, and Elena Burnett. It was edited by

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