The MAGAmerican view of History: Greenland and the US Heritage

           Greenland, not part of America         
 

The President of the United States of America, ostensibly speaking for the citizens of that country,  is renewing calls for the USA to take Greenland, the massive island controlled by Denmark, appointing a special envoy to "lead the charge" apparently to allow its territory to be taken over by the USA (Michael Loria, 'President Trump says US needs Greenland for 'national security'...', USA Today 23/12/2025). Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. Any changes to that status are for Greenlanders and Danes alone to decide. Sadly the addle-brain senior citizen clearly predicates his country's foreign policy on utter ignorance: 

Trump: "We need Greenland for national protection. They have a very small population. They say Denmark, but Denmark has no military protection. They say that Denmark was there 300 years ago with a boat—well, we were there with boats too I’m sure".

Nevertheless that "we" (the United States) did not exist until 1776, just 249 years ago. On the other hand, Norse Vikings demonstrably reached Greenland around 985 AD, and Denmark established colonies there in 1721. There is very clear archaeological and historical evidence for this. US academia has, as far as I can see, resigned from a public role of being opinion formers and been pretty slow in addressing this and issuing a public information statement what THEY think the case to be (where are they?). 

In fact, the US has had a military presence in Greenland for several decades and has essentially been invited by Denmark to station there as many more troops and assets as it wishes. So the US does not "have to have" Greenland for national security. There also is, we in "Yurope" might remind Mr Trump, a binding treaty between the US and other North Atlantic nations (including Denmark) to provide a collective defence, so there is no need for him to do this. Respect for sovereignty, integrity and the inviolability of borders is the foundational principle of international law, and must be upheld by all states without exception. The US, even under Trump, should continue to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other sovereign states and to abide by their international commitments, enshrined inter alia in the United Nations Charter and the North Atlantic Treaty. Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a statement that the island would decide its own future.

Meanwhile, the new Trump-appointed special envoy:

Governor Jeff Landry @LAGovJeffLandry Dec 22
Thank you @realDonaldTrump! It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S. This in no way affects my position as Governor of Louisiana!

Just to put this in context, see what an utter mess the USA has left as its heritage in Greenland from a previous occasion when they were there: Ben Panko, ' A Radioactive Cold War Military Base Will Soon Emerge From Greenland’s Melting Ice: They thought the frozen earth would keep it safely hidden. They were wrong', Smithsonian magazine August 5, 2016.

Victoria Herrmann, 'Unearthing the Arctic's Toxic Past: Camp Century and Cold War Secrets', High North News, 11.08.2016 .

Julia Rosen, 'Mysterious, ice-buried Cold War military base may be unearthed by climate change' Science.org 4 Aug 2016.

Camp Century American military base in Greenland (1959–1967) Wikipedia.

Katie Hunt, 'A doctor was deployed to an Arctic research station during the Cold War. Decades later, he learned its secret purpose' CNN, Sat March 15, 2025.