Topline
Donald Trump Jr. traveled to Greenland Tuesday amid renewed calls by President-elect Donald Trump for the United States to take over the Danish territory—but the island is unlikely to become the first addition of a new U.S. territory since the Northern Mariana Islands 50 years ago, as leaders in Greenland and Denmark have spurned Trump’s suggestion.
An aircraft carrying Donald Trump Jr. arrives in Nuuk, Greenland on Jan. 7, 2025.
Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Timeline
1975The U.S. captured the Northern Mariana Islands near Guam in 1944 and later administered them as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Northern Mariana Islands. The islands became a U.S. territory in 1975.
1917The U.S. paid Denmark $25 million in gold for the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1917, and U.S. citizenship was conferred on U.S. Virgin Islanders in 1927. The purchase, worth roughly $674 million today, was considered strategic for controlling the Caribbean due to the islands’ close proximity to the Panama Canal and American East Coast.
1900The 1899 Treaty of Berlin divided the Samoan Islands into two political entities and American Samoa, off the East Coast of Australia, was surrendered to the United States over the course of 25 years, starting in 1990, when the local chiefs of the region’s largest island, Tutuila, ceded it to the U.S. The islands of Manu’a followed in 1904 and Swain Island joined the territory by an act of Congress in 1925.
1898Spain ceded the island of Puerto Rico to the United States under the provisions of the 1898 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War. Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory and its people became U.S. citizens in 1917.
1898The United States also acquired Guam from Spain following the Spanish-American War, and defended the island from Japanese takeover during the second World War.
1898The United States annexed Hawaii in 1898. It was made a territory in 1900 and became a state in 1959. Hawaii was seen as a strategic location for a Pacific naval base, a gateway to Asian trade and served President William McKinley’s goal of expanding American influence abroad.
1867The United States paid Russia $7.2 million for the territory of Alaska—less than 2 cents an acre at the time. The deal, worth an estimated $120 million today, made Alaska a territory and it gained statehood in 1959.
1848Mexico ceded 529,000 square miles of land—consisting of modern day California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and parts of Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming—to the United States after the Mexican–American War. The United States paid $15 million through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
1845The United States annexed the Republic of Texas, making it the 28th state in the union, a decade after Texas’ successful war of independence against Mexico.
1819The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1819 through the Adams-Onís Treaty, which did not see the U.S. directly pay for the state, but America did agree to assume liability for $5 million in damages done by American citizens who rebelled against Spain.
1803The largest acquisition of territory in American history saw the U.S. buy 827,000 square miles of land from France in the Louisiana Purchase—which included parts of more than a dozen modern-day states including all of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri and Iowa. The $15 million price tag would cost about $342 million today.
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News Peg
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived in Greenland Tuesday for a personal visit. He will not meet with government officials and described himself as a tourist on his podcast Monday.
Big Number
14. That’s how many territories the United States has control over, though only five are inhabited. The other nine—Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, Wake Island and Navassa Island—are uninhabited outlying islands.
Surprising Fact
This isn’t the first time the U.S. has considered a takeover of Greenland. Then-Secretary of State William H. Seward in 1868 called the idea of buying both Greenland and Iceland “worthy of serious consideration” and commissioned a lengthy report on the possibility, but it never came to fruition. Other proposals were discussed throughout the 1900s, including a 1946 offer to buy Greenland for $100 million in a deal that would have included the swapping of oil-rich land in Alaska with Denmark.
Key Background
Greenland, which is already home to a major U.S. military base, has become increasingly important in recent years as new North Atlantic shipping lanes, made possible by the melting of the Arctic Circle, has drawn interest from Russia and China. The Wall Street Journal first reported the news that Trump had discussed the idea of purchasing Greenland, a self-ruling Danish territory, during dinners and meetings with advisers in August 2019. The report said Trump had, “with varying degrees of seriousness,” repeatedly expressed interest in buying the world’s largest island due to its importance to national security and economic potential. Talk of a purchase died off relatively quickly in 2019 after rebuttal from Danish leaders, but Trump resurfaced the idea shortly after he was reelected last year. On Dec. 22, Trump posted to Truth Social that American “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” during his appointment of former PayPal CFO Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark.
Chief Critics
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede last month said Greenland is “not for sale and will never be for sale.” In 2019, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederikse called the idea of the U.S. acquiring the island “absurd,” adding, “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland.” Her comments led to Trump canceling a scheduled visit to Copenhagen and he said she “was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct.” Former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen tweeted in 2019 that Trump’s idea “It must be an April Fool’s Day joke … but totally out of season!”
Tangent
Trump has also threatened to reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal, which was transferred to Panama at the end of the 20th century via a treaty signed by President Jimmy Carter. Last month, Trump accused Panama of charging excessive rates to use the passage and told a crowd of supporters he would not let the canal fall into the “wrong hands,” warning of potential Chinese influence. He then posted a photo on Truth Social with the comment “Welcome to the United States Canal!” Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino responded by posting on X, “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama and will continue belonging (to Panama).” Trump then responded, “We’ll see about that!”
Further ReadingForbesWhy Does Trump Want To Buy Greenland? Here’s What To Know—As Don Jr. Arrives On Island.By Sara DornForbesThe Way For President Trump To Get GreenlandBy Steve ForbesForbesTrump Says US Should Take Ownership Of Greenland And Threatens Panama Canal TakeoverBy Siladitya Ray
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Publish date : 2025-01-07 06:00:00
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