President-elect Donald Trump's son Donald Jr. reportedly arrived in Greenland on Tuesday, weeks after his the father expressed a desire for the US to gain control autonomous territory of Denmark. The visit, confirmed by a Greenland official to CBS News, also came a day after Mr. Trump suggested that residents of the vast region were “MAGA,” in a social media post.
“Donald Trump Jr.'s visit is a private visit and that is respected by Naalakkersuisut, the government of Greenland. Therefore, there will be no reaction to the visit either,” Mininguak Kleist, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Greenland. , told CBS News. “Our country is open to visitors, and guests are welcome in our beautiful country.”
Reuters, citing a source familiar with the trip, said Trump Jr. plans to film content for the podcast and that he will be there for just one day. The news agency reported that Trump Jr. arrived in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, on Tuesday in his father's Trump Force One plane.
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Trump on Monday according to a message on social networks that he was, “hearing that the people of Greenland 'MIGHT.' My son Don Jr. and various representatives will travel there to visit some of the most wonderful places and sights and the people will benefit immensely if and when they become part of our nation will protect it and protect it from the very vicious outside world, MAKE GREENLAND AGAIN GREAT!”
Greenland, with a population of about 57,000, is a fully autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. It has oil, natural gas and mineral resources, but its economy depends on Danish subsidies and fishing.
President-elect Trump expressed interest in buying Greenland during his first term in office, though the idea was fleeting was rejected by the Danish authorities.
Two weeks ago, Trump said on social media that “for the purposes of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Greenland's government has twice rejected Mr Trump's claim of interest in the territory, along with Prime Minister Mute Egede just before Christmas that “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and never will be.”
Last week, Egede gave a New Year's speech calling for Greenland to throw off the “shackles of colonialism” and gain full independence from Denmark.
“It is time for us to step up and shape our future, including who we will work closely with and who our trading partners will be,” Egede said.
One of the Greenlandic lawmakers in the Danish parliament, Aja Chemnitz, said that Trump's interests should be rejected, according to Reuters.
“I don't want to be a pawn in Trump's wild dreams of expanding his empire to include our country,” Chemnitz said.