Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/greenland-trump-denmark-58b285e03856f660f5e976565a05d681
On Wednesday, Greenlands prime minister Múte Bourup Egede made a statement in response to the US’s efforts in buying Greenland. He simply said, “Kalaallit Nunaat is ours,” using the Greenlandic name for his country. This statement came out only hours after US President Donald Trump had declared he intends to gain Greenland “one way or another” in a speech to the joint session of Congress. The Prime Minister had then gone on to say “We don’t want to be Americans, nor Danes; We are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leader must understand that. We are not for sale and cannot simply be taken. Our future will be decided by us in Greenland.” However in Trump’s speech he stated that, “we strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.” Many Greenlanders are still opposed to this offer though because they fear it harm their culture. Many Greenlanders have been vying for independence so becoming integrated with America does not appeal to them.
This situation goes to show how states will always spin what is happening to win their people over and gain the rest of the world’s support. When Greenlands Prime Minister used the name Kalaallit Nunaat instead of Greenland that’s not a coincidence. It’s a tactic used to intill patriotism throughout the kingdom. This could also be seen as a clue as to why the other countries don’t see our intentions as modestly as we do. To us, we are taking this peace of land to stop Russia’s expansion, a major European enemy at the moment. As Trump had stated in his speech, “we need it really for international world security.” But to the rest of the world we are taking over other peoples mineral rich land with no care for them. Only thinking of how beneficial it is to ourselves. As a liberal hegemon you are always going to be hated for something you do since you are always in the spot light. The goal is to just find the right balance.