US president pledges ‘not to do this’ but residents of the icy island have hardly warmed to his interest

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Donald Trump may still want to purchase Greenland – but the US president has no plans to embellish the island’s coast with a Trump Tower.

On Monday night, Trump tweeted an edited photo of a coastal town dotted with colorful homes – all dwarfed by a golden skyscraper bearing his name.

“I promise not to do this to Greenland!” Trump said.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) I promise not to do this to Greenland! pic.twitter.com/03DdyVU6HA



The tweet came a day after he confirmed news reports that he was mulling the idea of buying the autonomous Danish territory, though he has acknowledged that such a deal is “not No 1 on the burner”.

Front of mind, perhaps, are warnings from economists that the US economy is teetering toward a recession. But Trump, ever the businessman, apparently cannot resist the prospect of what he has called “essentially a large real estate deal” with miles of coastline.

“Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested but we’ll talk to them a little bit,” Trump told reporters on Sunday.

News of the president’s interest in buying the icy island were met internationally with roars of laughter. But in Greenland and in Denmark, the response ranged from incredulous to indignant.

“I think he’s crazy,” one resident told CBS. Another said the idea felt “patronizing”.

The Danish prime minister has called any discussion of a sale “absurd”.

Q&A Why might Donald Trump want to buy Greenland? Show Hide Greenland harbours some of the largest deposits of rare-earth metals, including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, along with uranium and the byproducts of zinc. US corporations once thought of China as a benign supplier of rare-earth metals for mobile phones, computers and more recently electric cars. And the US government was relaxed when Chinese companies began hoovering up mines across central and southern Africa to secure an even greater dominance of the global market.

But the arrival of Xi Jinping as China’s leader, and his more aggressive foreign policy stance, has spooked many US policymakers. Among Trump’s advisers, the need for greater economic independence has raced up the agenda. A potential target for the US is Greenland Minerals, an Australian company that has generated a good deal of excitement since it started operating on Greenland’s south-west peninsula in 2007 to develop the Kvanefjeld mine, which is home to many rare-earth metals. More than 100m tonnes of ore are believed to be sitting below the surface and the project is expected to become one of the largest global producers outside China. Phillip Inman

“We are open for business, but we’re not for sale,” Greenland’s foreign minister, Ane Lone Bagger, said.

“Greenland belongs to Greenland,” said Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister. “ I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously.”

Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in September, as part of a trip to Europe.

Earlier on Monday, Trump’s son Eric shared the same photo of a Trump Tower in Greenland on Instagram.

He wrote: “I don’t know about you guys but I love the concept of buying Greenland.”