Apparently, Donald Trump Jr just landed in Greenland on a "private visit", but probably to probe whether or not it´s possible for the United States to somehow "buy" the world´s largest island from Denmark. The Greenlandian premier already rejected the proposal, instead calling for independence. Currently, Greenland is a self-governing "constituent country" within the Kingdom of Denmark. A more honest description is that the island is still, you know, Danish...
It´s difficult to see how Greenland could become independent at all without a major geopolitical earthquake. NATO has a large military presence in the northern portion of the territory, the famed Thule Air Base, which seems to be absolutely crucial to the defenses of the Western alliance. An independent Greenland might want to lease out mines and ports to, say, China...but something tells me the United States will have objections.
Ironically, Greenland might actually be better off remaining under Danish control. Denmark strikes me as more stable and predictable than the United States. Also, Greenland has two representatives in the Danish Parliament. Something tells me Trump doesn´t want to grant Greenland US statehood! That would be two extra senators for the Democrats, since Greenlanders habitually vote Social Democrat or leftist.
Still, it does show the volatile nature of international relations right now that Trump (apparently un-ironically) insists on full effective US control of a NATO-affiliated "constituent country"...
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