Greenland’s new leader is not budging on letting President Donald Trump fulfill his dream of buying the autonomous island territory.
Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, 33, assumed office on April 7 and said on Sunday that he won’t be the one who lets Greenland be purchased by the U.S.
Trump has long floated the idea of obtaining the strategic and mineral-rich Danish territory.
But leaders in Denmark and on the Arctic island aren’t keen on the idea of letting it go to the U.S.
Prime Minister Nielsen said on Sunday that Trump’s statements about Greenland are ‘disrespectful’ and it ‘will never, ever be a piece of property that can be bought by just anyone.’
‘The talks from the United States have not been respectful,’ Nielsen said at a news conference at the prime minister’s Marienborg official residence eight miles north of Copenhagen, Denmark.
New Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said President Donald Trump’s words have not been ‘respectful’ in regards to acquiring the Arctic island as on Sunday he threw water on the idea of the U.S. acquiring the autonomous Danish territory
‘The words used have not been respectful,’ he continued. ‘That’s why we need in this situation, we need to stand together.’
Political parties in Greenland have for years been leaning towards eventual independence from Denmark.
Recently, parties agreed to form a new coalition government in the face of Trump’s desire to acquire the territory.
Trump sent his eldest son Donald Trump Jr. to Nuuk, Greenland before retaking office earlier this year where he drummed up support for the idea and toured with local pro-MAGA communities.
Also last month, Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance traveled to Greenland on a diplomatic trip.
Nielsen completed on Monday a three-day trip to Denmark in his new capacity as premier of Greenland.
He stood alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during his remarks insisting Greenland would remain an autonomous territory free from foreign purchase.
Vice President J.D. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance visited Greenland and toured the U.S. military’s Pituffik Space Base on March 28, 2025
‘Denmark has the will to invest in the Greenlandic society, and we don’t just have that for historical reasons. We also have that because we are part of (the Danish) commonwealth with each other,’ Frederiksen said during the joint press conference on Sunday.
‘We of course have a will to also continue investing in the Greenlandic society,’ she added.
Frederiksen and Nielsen were asked if they were planning a meeting with President Trump.
‘We always want to meet with the American president,’ Frederiksen said.
‘Of course we want to. But I think we have been very, very clear in what is the [Danish commonwealth’s} approach to all parts of the Kingdom of Denmark.’
