It’s a big polar bear vs. Donald Trump Jr.
He arrived in snowy Greenland on Tuesday on his father’s Trump Force One private plane, the latest sign of the president-elect’s desire to take ownership of the vast Arctic island. But if the Danish king’s latest move is anything to go by, the United States has a fight on its hands.
King Frederik, who assumed the Danish throne after the abdication of Queen Margrethe II last year, has tweaked the royal coat of arms for the first time in more than 500 years, a move that was viewed by historians as a clear signal to Greenland — and perhaps Trump.
“We are all united and each of us committed for the kingdom of Denmark,” the monarch said in his New Year’s address, adding, “all the way to Greenland.”
The former Danish royal arms, left, established in 1972, and the latest arms by royal resolution on Dec. 20, 2024.
The changes to the coat of arms, announced Jan. 1, give the Danish territories Greenland and the Faroe Islands their own quadrants, represented by a bear and a ram. Outlining the changes, the royal household explained that “the polar bear became Greenland’s heraldic symbol under Frederik the 3rd in 1666.”
They are “a statement and a symbolic signal to the populations of both places that they are significant (and equal) parts of the kingdom,” Peter Aagaard, an associate professor at Roskilde University in Denmark, told NBC News.
Greenland, the world’s largest island, sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the Arctic Ocean, and is closer to New York than it is to Copenhagen. It has been under Denmark’s control since the 14th century but became a self-governing territory in 1979.
It is also home to a large U.S. Air Force base and major mineral reserves, catching the eye of Trump, who expressed a desire to buy the island during his first term in office.
The city of Ilulissat, Greenland.
Both Greenland and Denmark firmly rejected Trump’s proposal at the time, leading him to cancel a visit to Copenhagen.
Since then, a debate has been brewing in both Denmark and Greenland about the island’s future as part of the Danish Commonwealth, driven in part by revelations of misconduct by the former colonial power.
“My guess is that the coat of arms would have been changed despite the Trump interest of buying Greenland,” Aagaard said, noting the “strong debate” and “growing feeling of independence in Greenland,” as well as the king’s strong personal regard for the island.
But Danish royal historian Lars Hovbakke Sørensen said the king’s move may have been a deliberate attempt to underline that “Greenland is a part of the Danish Realm,” especially given the growing American interest in the island, which has a population of some 56,000 people.
Trump Force One arrives today in Nuuk, Greenland.
Trump weighed in on the issue on Dec. 24, posting on Truth Social that “the ownership and control” of the Danish territory was “an absolute necessity.”
Hours later, the Danish government announced it would boost defense spending for the island by a “double digit billion amount,” or at least $1.5 billion. The timing of that announcement was an “irony of fate,” according to Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
But Trump has been undeterred.
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World,” he posted on Truth Social ahead of his son’s visit.
Trump Jr.’s trip was set to last four to five hours, according to the island’s permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Mininnguaq Kleist.
“We have not been briefed on the nature of his program, and therefore this is a private visit,” Kleist told Reuters.
Shortly after his arrival, Trump Jr. was filmed on a phone call with his father in a restaurant.
As one of Trump Jr.’s team held up the phone, the president-elect could be heard saying that Greenland was a “very special place.”
“It needs security for itself, and it also needs security very much for the world,” he said. “We need security, and our country needs it and the whole world needs it,” he added, before the crowd start applauding.
Trump Jr. replied that his team was “learning a lot” and that Greenland was “incredibly beautiful.” He added that they had received a “spectacular” welcome.
The Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry told NBC News that it had “noted” the visit but did not comment further because it was “not an official American visit.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said Tuesday that the future of Greenland would be decided by Greenland, calling the United States Denmark’s most important ally.
Her response echoed the unequivocal stance of Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede, who told Trump in December that “Greenland is not for sale.”
Yet the feud could add to calls for Greenland’s independence from Denmark, with proponents hoping to “exploit the Trump interest to elevate their own political goal,” rather than replace Danish authority with the Americans, Aagaard said.
Egede has called on the territory to “break free” from the “shackles of the colonial era,” adding that it would soon adopt a new self-government act to chart its own future away from Denmark.
“We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” he said.
But in Denmark, most politicians saw Trump Jr’s visit as “quite annoying,” Aagaard said, adding that “there is a clear Danish interest in maintaining Greenland as part of the Commonwealth, though the Danes are aware that Denmark can never defend Greenland alone.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
