Greenland's leader says “we're not selling” after Trump suggested US take over

Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said the island nation “is not for sale and will not be sold,” after President-elect Donald Trump suggested the US should annex it.

Trump posted on social media early Monday that “for the purposes of National Security and International Freedom, the United States of America feels that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.” Greenland, a large frozen Arctic island with a population of over 50,000, is a sovereign territory of Denmark. The leader of Greenland responded quickly.

“Greenland is ours,” wrote Egede. “We are not selling and we will not be sold. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom.”

The post came hours after Trump announced his intention appointed Ken Howery to the post of American ambassador to Denmark. Howery was the US ambassador to Sweden during Trump's first term.

This is not the first time Trump has suggested that the US somehow buy the island. In 2019, during Trump's first term, he said he was thinking of buying Greenland for strategic reasons. Greenland's leadership made it clear that the island was not for sale at that time.

Over the weekend, Trump also appeared to suggest that the US should take over the Panama Canal, which is owned and operated by the Panama Canal Authority. The US uses this canal more than any other nation, according to the US State Department, with 72% of all ships going to or from US ports.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama.”

“We'll see about that!” Trump tweeted after Mulion's response.

The Panama Canal was built by the US at the beginning of the 20th century, and was returned by treaty to Panama by former President Jimmy Carter in 1977.