COPENHAGEN/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump Jr. is expected to visit Greenland on Tuesday, a local government official told Reuters two weeks after Trump’s father, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, expressed interest in gaining control over the vast Arctic island.
No meetings were scheduled with representatives of the Greenlandic government, the island’s permanent secretary for foreign affairs, Mininnguaq Kleist, told Reuters: “We have not been briefed on the nature of his program, and therefore this is a private visit.”
A source familiar with the trip told Reuters that Trump Jr. is planning a one-day visit to shoot video content for a podcast and that he would not meet with any government officials or political figures.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with a population of just 57,000, boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. But development has been slow, leaving its economy reliant on fishing and annual subsidies from Denmark.
The capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than the Danish capital, Copenhagen.
President-elect Trump already expressed interest in buying Greenland during his 2017-2021 term but was publicly rebuffed by Greenlandic and Danish authorities before any conversations could take place.
Two weeks ago, Trump said on Truth Social that “the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”
Last week, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede in his New Year speech stepped up a push for independence from Denmark, saying the island must break free from “the shackles of colonialism” and shape its own future, albeit without mentioning the United States.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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