Over the weekend, President Donald Trump renewed his brazen call for the United States to buy or seize Greenland for its critical natural resources, prompting Alaska’s U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski to once again rebuff the president.
A joint statement released by Murkowski and Danish Parliament member Aaja Chemnitz, who together co-chair the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, says that the U.S. must respect Greenland’s autonomy and instead seek economic partnerships. The committee is a collection of lawmakers from Arctic nations.
“Of course, a businessman turned president would be interested,” the statement said. “But Greenland is not for sale. The question has been asked and firmly answered by the government of Greenland, Naalakkersuisut. As legislators representing Greenland in Denmark and the United States, we see a better path forward. The United States, like Denmark, should recognize that the future will be defined by partnership, not ownership. To ensure our alliance reaches its full potential, Americans must view Greenland as an ally, not an asset. Open for business, but not for sale.”
Trump and his allies have largely targeted Greenland because it’s believed to have rich stores of critical rare-earth minerals essential for everything from cell phones to satellites and electric cars. Alaska is also thought to have similarly rich stores of those minerals, which the state has worked to commercialize.
While rare-earth elements are critical for much of our modern technology, the mining and processing of those materials is hazardous and/or costly, which has left China and other countries with lower standards to control the market.
The statement by Murkowski and Chemnitz stresses that America and Denmark’s long history should lead to collaboration between the two nations, especially because they both have shared security and economic interests in the Arctic.
“Let’s remember that the U.S. portion of the Arctic — Alaska — shares more than lines of latitude with Greenland,” the said. “Whether you’re in Nuuk or Nome, you will see and hear familiar words, a reflection of our Inuk and Iñupiaq peoples’ common history. Alaska has the same advantages as Greenland, from strategic location to abundant resources. We can form the heart of this union throughout the 21st century and beyond.”
While the statement laid out a long and detailed argument against seizing Greenland and working together, here’s what the president had to say about it over the weekend:
“I think Greenland will be worked out with us,” Trump told reporters over the weekend, according to NPR. “I think we’re going to have it. And I think the people want to be with us. I don’t know really what claim Denmark has to it. But it would be a very unfriendly act if they didn’t allow that to happen because it’s for protection of the free world. It’s not for us, it’s for the free world.”
Trump has at least one backer in Alaska’s Congressional Delegation in newly elected U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, who called acquiring Greenland “history-defining” and compared it to the Alaska Purchase. He also claimed that Greenlanders would be better off under American rule. While he’s been in office for less than a month, Begich has proved to be one of Trump’s biggest boosters, writing off Alaskans’ concerns about renaming Denali as unimportant.
The full statement
Today, United States Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska and Co-Chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region) and Aaja Chemnitz (Member of Danish Parliament representing Greenland for Inuit Ataqatigiit and Chair of the Standing Committee of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region), released the following joint statement:
“In recent weeks, as President Trump has suggested the U.S. should purchase Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark, attention has rapidly turned to what the future may hold. The appeal of Greenland is easy to understand. It is strategically located for defense, shipping, and more. It is also a storehouse for all sorts of minerals, the building blocks of society that will determine who leads—and controls—the industries of the future.
“Of course, a businessman turned president would be interested. But Greenland is not for sale. The question has been asked and firmly answered by the government of Greenland, Naalakkersuisut.
“As legislators representing Greenland in Denmark and the United States, we see a better path forward. The United States, like Denmark, should recognize that the future will be defined by partnership, not ownership. To ensure our alliance reaches its full potential, Americans must view Greenland as an ally, not an asset. Open for business, but not for sale.
“From our work on Arctic Parliamentarians, we are certain that U.S. ambitions for national security can be achieved without altering Greenland’s autonomy. We see that in Pittufik Space Base. Dialogue and cooperation can strengthen our ties; diplomacy can pave the way for a relationship and alliance that fulfills our mutual interests.
“We can also affirm that Greenland welcomes increased cooperation with the U.S. on defense, mineral development, trade, and our common values of freedom and democracy. The U.S. should embrace that. And it should be paired with a larger acceptance of the Arctic as a region of shared responsibility whose opportunities cannot be seized, and whose challenges cannot be overcome, by any one nation on its own.
“Let’s remember that the U.S. portion of the Arctic—Alaska—shares more than lines of latitude with Greenland. Whether you’re in Nuuk or Nome, you will see and hear familiar words, a reflection of our Inuk and Iñupiaq peoples’ common history. Alaska has the same advantages as Greenland, from strategic location to abundant resources. We can form the heart of this union throughout the 21st century and beyond.
“We work hard to ensure prosperity, peaceful and respectful collaboration and protection of our people. We do so through international cooperation including through the Arctic Council which is the main Arctic cooperative governance body. We call on continued support and engagement in the peaceful dialogue through the Arctic Council, and we look forward and support the incoming chairship of Kingdom of Denmark, and recognize the leading role of Greenland in the chairship.
“The future does not require us to redraw the borders on that map, but to work harder than ever across them. The respectful, consensus partnership is the only way to truly foster the ties that will bind Greenland and the United States together for the long haul. We call the Arctic our home. We work hard to ensure prosperity, peaceful and respectful collaboration and protection of our people. We believe in a stronger partnership for a brighter future across the Arctic.”
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Bluesky.
