Trump’s threats cast an ominous shadow over Greenland’s frozen fjords

The sun is rising over the ice-capped mountains of the Nuuk Fjord and we are heading towards one of the world’s last wild frontiers.

But shadows gather here and across the rest of Greenland’s frozen expanses.

When Donald Trump becomes president of the United States, his Refusal to rule out taking Greenland by force is echoing through conversations across the island.

“You’re welcome to come visit for sure,” says the skipper of the converted fishing boat that takes us east. Aware that he has to do business with people of all political stripes, he asked not to be named, but he used a phrase I hear over and over here.

“Greenland belongs to Greenlanders. So Trump can visit, but that’s it.”

The waters are calm in the isolated village of Kapisillit – about 40 inhabitants – where some hunters set out to shoot seals.

It’s -16C (3F), and with the wind chill effect it’s like -27C.

But near the harbor I meet an elder from the local church, Kaaleeraq Ringsted, 73, a great-grandfather, who is drying fillets of cod caught in fish-rich waters near his door.

When I ask President Trump about buying or invading Greenland, he laughs at first. Then his tone turns serious.

“It is not acceptable to say that. Greenland is not for sale.”

Then he tells me how he learned to fish and hunt here with his father and grandfather, and how he wants to preserve that life for his children and grandchildren.

Crossing the bay, the boat crossed the broken surface ice. Two eagles perched on a rock, looking for fish in clear water.

Angutimmarik, who hunts sheep and seals, birds and rabbits, was on his way to Hansen’s farm.

All winter feed for the sheep must be imported from Denmark, a reminder of how the harsh climate defines life chances here.

Inside his front door is a rack of hunting rifles. He notices me looking at them.

“That’s just in case there’s an invasion,” he jokes.

But Mar-A-Lago’s attitude toward warlike rhetoric is far from relaxed.

“Stupid people like Trump in the world,” he says. “We will never sell Greenland.”

This small farm is about 3,000 miles (4,828 km) from Florida, where the US president will hold a press conference last week.

“But Trump is not the US. We can work with the US people,” says Mr Hansen.

The Trump effect came flooding in Donald Trump Jr. He arrived in Greenlandnext to his father’s statements. Nuu flew into the capital on the family’s 737 plane – Trump Force One – and stayed for four hours and thirty-three minutes, meeting some of the locals and offering only polite remarks.

“It was really nice to meet people, and people were very happy to meet us,” he said after lunch at a local hotel. “Father will have to come here.”

Then it was back to the sunny climes of Florida.

Trump Jr. he welcomed local businessman Jorgen Boass, who once campaigned for the elected president.

He told local media that he was Trump’s “biggest fan” and that “of course they are interested in our country, and they are welcome to see what our country is like. It’s also about opening up for trade and cooperation.”

The city of Nuuk is the northern capital of the world. It has a thriving civil society and a strong press. And there is some satisfaction here that Trump’s comments have pushed the debate over Greenlandic independence onto the international stage.

There must be a Greenland that is no one’s colony, say Kuno Fencker, MP for the governing coalition and a member of the Foreign and Security Committee of the local Parliament.

We will meet near the port, under the bronze statue of Hans Egede, the 18th century man seen as the man who paved the way for colonization.

“Donald Trump is a politician,” says Mr. Fencker.

“He’s a tough businessman, and we know his rhetoric, and that rhetoric is something we’ve gotten used to since 2019, and it’s just talking to a peer, an ally, about how we can fix things here in the Arctic and also in NATO.”

Mr. Fencker offers the main argument of the pro-independence campaign.

“Here it is necessary that Greenland as a sovereign state should negotiate directly with the United States and not have Denmark do it for us.”

Independence from Denmark could have a high economic cost.

Greenland receives approximately one fifth of its GDP in subsidies from Copenhagen each year. Mr. Fencker suggests, like other senior figures here, that the island would negotiate with America and Denmark for help.

“We are not naive in this. We need help in defense, security and economic development. We want a sustainable and self-sufficient economy.”

Local newspaper editor Maasana Egede Sermitsiaq admitted she was concerned about Donald Trump’s implied threat of force, but wants to see how the reality matches the rhetoric.

Regarding independence, Mr. Egede has been frustrated by what he sees as a polarized debate in the media – both local and international.

“We are telling a lot that this story should be about independence or not about independence. But there is all this story in between, that people want independence, but not at any cost. There is a standard of living that must be maintained. . There is trade that must be maintained.

It is expected that at some point—not in the near future—there will be a vote in favor and Denmark will accept the result.

Island Prime Minister Mute Egede spoke at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in response to Donald Trump’s latest comments.

“We don’t want to be Danish, we don’t want to be American, we want to be Greenlandic,” he said. The Danish prime minister was careful not to offend anyone, least of all the US president.

“The debate about the independence of Greenland and the recent announcements of the United States show us a great interest in Greenland,” he said. “The events set in motion many thoughts and feelings with many in Greenland and Denmark.”

Mrs. Frederiksen is well aware of the deep feelings in Greenland. Memories of injustice and racism are fresh here among the indigenous Inuit.

Scandals such as the campaign to insert IUDs (intrauterine devices) in thousands of Inuit women and girls to prevent pregnancy in the 1960s and 70s, haunt the relationship between Greenland and Denmark.

It is not known how many of these procedures were carried out without the consent of those involved, but the numbers are significant. The goal was to reduce the population of Greenland.

Maliina Abelsen is the former Minister of Finance of the Government of Greenland, and is currently a consultant to companies and organizations working on the island. UNICEF has also worked in Denmark and with major Greenlandic businesses, such as the Royal Greenland seafood group.

Ms. Abelsen believes that much more needs to be done to address the injustices of the past.

“I think a lot of people are saying, maybe even the Danish government and the state have said, ‘Oh, you know this happened in the past. This is many years ago. How are we going to be responsible for this? Time to move on.’

“But you can’t move on if you haven’t recovered, and if you haven’t acknowledged what happened to you. It’s a job we have to do together with Denmark, which Greenland can do on its own.”

And despite her great popularity in civil society and business, Maliina Abelsen says that when it comes to racism – jokes about Inuit people for example – “she can speak for most Greenlanders, we’ve all experienced it in our lives”.

The issues of self-determination and dealing with the past are closely related.

Now the intervention of Donald Trump has brought both of them before the eyes of the world.

But the message we heard – from the remote settlements of the fjord to the capital Nuuk – is that Greenland’s fate must be decided here, among people whose voices have been ignored for too long.

With additional reporting by Adrienne Murray and Kostas Kallergis.