Donald Trump has reopened his bid to seize Greenland. Here's why it's not an empty threat

Incoming U.S. president Donald Trump wants a U.S. takeover of the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland — and the idea is not nearly as far-fetched as it might sound.

In a bombastic press conference Tuesday, Trump reiterated recent calls to secure control of the world's largest island and the Panama Canal, refusing to rule out economic or military coercion. He threatened to "tariff Denmark at a very high level" if it did not comply.

"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit greatly if and when it becomes part of our nation," he wrote earlier Tuesday in a post to his social media network, Truth Social. "We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World."

Trump's remarks came as his son, Donald Trump Jr., visited the island on a highly publicized "personal trip," meeting with locals and distributing "Make America Great Again" hats, according to Greenlandic daily Sermitsiaq. Several media reports also said the president-elect connected with locals for a brief video call, telling the group, "We're going to treat you well."

The combined offensive drew condemnation from Greenlandic and Danish politicians alike.

"I don't want to be a pawn in Trump's wet dreams of expanding his empire," Aaja Chemnitz, one of Greenland's two representatives in Denmark's parliament, says in a translation of a Facebook post written in Danish and Greenlandic. 

"It's appalling — what's going on right now" about the U.S. "taking over Greenland," Søren Espersen, an opposition MP in Denmark, says in a Google translation of an X post written in Danish. 

But within Greenland, the reaction was more muted. That's because, amid an ongoing push for independence from Denmark, the U.S. is certain to be a key player in the territory's future.

And while politicians like Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte B. Egede have been adamant that Greenland "is not for sale and will never be for sale," there's a reason to believe that Trump's threat may carry some weight this time around.

Trump first floated the idea of buying Greenland in 2019 and resurrected the idea in a Christmas Eve post announcing his new ambassador to Denmark. The idea actually goes back to the 19th century, when the U.S. regularly acquired vast territories through agreements like the Louisiana Purchase.

But Greenland isn't really "owned" by Denmark. Located much nearer to Canada's Arctic territories than Europe, it has been a territory of the Kingdom since the 1800s, but over 90 per cent of its population of fewer than 60,000 people are Indigenous to the island.

It has had its own parliament and government since 1973, and a 2008 referendum laid a pathway to full independence if Greenlanders want it.

Under the current arrangement, Denmark maintains responsibility for some key portfolios including currency, foreign affairs and defence.

Since winning power in 2021, Egede's pro-independence Inuit Ataqatigiit party has led a push for Greenland to pursue ties with other allies as part of a long-term strategy to move away from dependence on Denmark.