For many Greenlanders, the Trump administration’s repeated comments stating desire to take over the territory represent a “total show of disrespect,” according to Greenlandic filmmaker Inuk Silis Høegh.
Over the last few days, Trump has reiterated his designs on Greenland in the wake of his administration’s stunning move to remove Venezuela’s leader from power.
“People are a bit worried, but immediately on social media … there were a lot of people posting our flag and standing firm,” Høegh told CNN of the Greenlandic reaction to Trump’s remarks.
When the Trump administration turned its attention to Greenland — the vast autonomous Arctic territory ruled by Denmark — last year, it prompted “one of the biggest demonstrations” against the US approach, Høegh said.
“No individual can own land in Greenland, it is all a common ownership that you can lend as an individual,” he explained. “That makes the view of our country as real estate ever so more provocative for us.”
Similarly, Christian Keldsen, CEO of the Greenland Business Association, said the issue is “in the background for us” but it “is irritating people because it’s unnecessary.”
Both Høegh and Keldsen underlined the close economic and strategic relationship which already exists between Greenland and the US, allowing American investment and military bases on the territory.
The issue strikes right at the heart of Greenland’s politics, which have long been shaped by Denmark’s colonial legacy and questions about the territory’s future independence.
“It’s very much a booster for the independence talks,” Høegh said. “We’ve been on an island away from the world … and then all of a sudden this bomb drops and we have to find out what we want.”