In his first term, Donald Trump said he wanted to buy Greenland from Denmark. The government of Denmark made it very clear that would never happen.
But Trump's desire to own Greenland has not ceased. Just before Christmas, Trump posted on his social media site that " for purposes of national security" he feels the "ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity". Note that he didn't say anything about buying it this time - just owning and controlling it.
Greenland is a large island with an area of about 836,330 square miles, but it has a small population of only about 57,000 people. It has a small police force, but no military. The defense of the island is done by Denmark.
That defense is by the Royal Danish Navy's 1st Squadron. That squadron consists of:
Four Thetis-class patrol vessels
and three Knud Rasmussen-class patrol vessels
Those vessels would be useless, because Trump would not have to attack the island from the sea.
The United States has a base in Greenland - the Pituffik Space Base. There are only a few soldiers stationed there and it is blocked by ice most of the year, but it's airfield remains operational all year. Within just a few hours, the U.S. could fly in a substantial numbers of troops - enough to seize the island easily!
Denmark is not taking Trump's words as a joke. They have voted to substantially increase funding for Greenland's defense. If they are smart, they will station a substantial amount of Danish troops on the island to prevent a takeover - at least for the next four years.
Is it possible Trump would try to seize Greenland? I think it is.
It would destroy relations with Denmark and NATO (and possibly end U.S. involvement in NATO), but Trump doesn't care much about either. He thinks it would enhance his own legacy.
Trump is not very smart and completely ignorant of foreign affairs - and his narcissism and egomania could easily drive him to make such a colossal blunder.
Don't write this off as a joke. It's much more likely a power move by an authoritarian.
