Donald Trump. Donald Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on March 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
President Donald Trump likes to boast about the value of crowd sizes at his rallies but the entire electorate of Greenland could fit into the venue at Wildwood, New Jersey, where he held one campaign event last year.
The intentions of 41,000 eligible voters in the world's most sparsely populated territory would not typically garner global headlines but Trump's ambition to take Greenland via economic or military means has thrust it into the spotlight.
Spanning over 836,330 sq miles, the autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark is bigger than Alaska and has only 0.7 people per sq mile. For Trump, it's the size of its rare earth resources and strategic location rather than its population which counts.
His overtures of U.S. ownership, reiterated last week before Congress, have exercised Greenlandic voters on the snowy doorstep.
"No thanks, Mr. Trump. Like little David, we will fight against Trump's imperialism," Juaaka Lyberth, a member of Kommuneqarfik Sermersooq Municipal Council, told Newsweek.
Lyberth, a musician and author who lives in the capital, Nuuk, but grew up in Uummannaq in the western center of the island, said of Trump, "he'll be damned if he's going to get Greenland incorporated into the U.S."
The outcome of Greenland's election could influence Trump's ambitions to bring the vast Arctic territory under greater U.S. influence or even ownership. Every major party competing in Greenland's parliament opposes joining the U.S. and sees strong local governance or a push toward independence as more important than answering overtures from Washington. There is little political incentive to accommodate Trump's position, particularly as public opinion strongly rejects any notion of becoming a U.S. territory.
Nevertheless, the final election results could still influence how Washington approaches Greenland's strategic value. Even without the option of outright purchase, the U.S. will likely continue seeking closer cooperation on mineral extraction and security arrangements. If the new government remains keen on loosening ties to Denmark—while not pivoting toward direct American governance—Trump might see an opening to offer Greenland economic incentives and defense guarantees.
There is a lot resting on the decision of those 41,000 voters.
When Is Greenland's Election and How Many Parties Are There?
Six parties and 213 candidates are running in the elections, which open at midday Central European Time (7 a.m. ET) and close at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) on Tuesday. Voters will elect the 31 members of the island's parliament, known in Greenlandic as the Inatsisartut, whose makeup is decided by a proportional system.
The latest polls suggest the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, led by the pro-independence Prime Minister Mute Egede, could gain about 31 percent of the vote, 9 percent ahead of the Siumut party, with whom it is currently in coalition.
The left-leaning Inuit Ataqatigiit party wants an economically and politically independent Greenland and opposes mining for radioactive materials due to environmental risks.
Meanwhile, the centre-left Simiut party, the island's largest which is led by Erik Jensen, has promised a vote on independence after the election and wants to reduce economic dependence on Denmark over the next decade and a half.
Naleraq, led by Pele Broberg, is Greenland's largest opposition party. It is also pro-independent and shows an apparent willingness to collaborate with the U.S..
Broberg has welcomed Trump's security guarantees, financial support and possibly U.S. citizenship should its people choose Washington over Copenhagen, suggesting in an op-ed that no other leader in Denmark or the EU has expressed such support for Greenlandic independence.
Where Do Greenland's Political Parties Stand on US?
Independence from Denmark is not on the ballot itself, but who is elected to Greenland's parliament will signal future moves away from Copenhagen and how it will handle Trump.
Election debate has centered on health care, education, and future ties with Denmark, which still controls foreign, defense and monetary policy since Greenland won self-rule in 1979.
Rasmus Jarlov, spokesperson on Greenlandic Affairs for Denmark's Conservative Party, posted in an X thread the reasons Trump and his MAGA supporters should keep their hands off Greenland, not least because a poll last month showed 85 percent of Greenlanders reject any prospect of joining the U.S.
In addition, not a single candidate in Greenland's election wants to join the U.S. and, with full parliamentary representation in Denmark, the island already gets much more money from Copenhagen than Washington sends to its overseas territories.
So, Jarlov asked, why would it swap for the status of a North Atlantic Puerto Rico, with no voting rights or influence in Washington?
The U.S. has a military presence on the northwest coast of Greenland at the Pituffik Space Base, formerly known Thule Air Base. Juaaka Lyberth said that Trump wants to expand this influence and as such Greenlanders should form a united front against this.
"Trump doesn't care about the people of Greenland," Lyberth said, "It's the country and its resources he wants. And maybe a place in the history books as the one who expanded the area of the United States."
What Next for Trump's Greenland Ambitions?
Greenland's Prime Minister Mute Egede insisted "we are not for sale" and that citizens want to be neither Americans nor Danes because "we are Kalaallit (Greenlanders)." Nonetheless after the ballot, there will be anticipation over how Trump might react.
Greenlandic independence is a long-term plan for all parties but parallel with that debate in the coming years will be one on its security role in the Arctic amid global warming and moves by Russia and China to exert influence in the region.
Michael J. Williams, an expert in national security and NATO at Syracuse University, said that cooperation in Greenland between the U.S. and founding NATO member Denmark is likely to continue but security in that part of the North Atlantic will remain a concern for Trump.
"One would hope that the administration and Donald Trump could satisfy their concerns about Arctic security by working with a NATO ally," he told Newsweek.
But it would be hard to imagine Trump ordering forces to land on Greenland to capture it by force because this would fracture the whole NATO alliance.
Trump's aspirations for the island could be a ploy to push policy changes such as NATO members beefing up their military spending following his distancing from the alliance. "Maybe it's an opening gambit for some sort of negotiation," Williams said.
Trump and Greenland's Mineral Resources
In a post on his Truth Social platform in December 2024, wrote: "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
He has said that his interest in Greenland was driven by the passage of Russian and Chinese merchant vessels and warships through Arctic nearby routes.
However, Eldur Ólafsson, CEO of the Greenlnd-focused mining company Amaroq Minerals, previously told Newsweek: "Greenland's vast mineral potential represents an opportunity for the West to secure a supply of essential critical minerals—needed for batteries, industrial development and AI infrastructure—and reduce dependence on China."
He described Greenland's mineral wealth as a "key reason" for Trump's interest.
Christian Keldsen, director of Greenland Business Association, said: "I can confirm that Greenland's underground has 39 of the 50 minerals on the U.S. list that are considered critical/strategic according to our government."
Trump's push to secure rare earths likely extends beyond Greenland. Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his country's mineral wealth is behind Trump's "real" desire to turn Canada into a 51st state and the U.S. has proposed a deal with Ukraine for its mineral resources.
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This story was originally published March 11, 2025 at 8:43 AM.