The Real Biocene: Commentary by William Becker

Watch Out, Greenland. Manifest Destiny is Coming for You

January 19, 2025

By William S. Becker

It sounded at first like another one of Donald Trump's crazy utterances, like his claim that windmills (he means wind turbines) cause cancer. However, he and some people in the MAGA movement are serious about making Greenland part of the United States.

It wouldn't be easy or necessarily welcomed by Greenland's people. Donald Trump Jr. recently paid a short visit to the island on an apparent scouting mission. A viral message on TikTok noted that if the Vikings had still controlled the island, they would have returned Junior's head in a box.

In any case, there are rational reasons for the U.S. to acquire Greenland. It is rich in the minerals necessary for many critical modern technologies – minerals that China currently dominates. The island's location is increasingly vital as Arctic ice melts and new shipping lanes open, changing global trade dynamics. Greenland is also important for surveilling potential threats from Russia and China.

If Greenlanders were interested, they would have several choices. The island is a self-governing territory of Denmark with the right to independence by referendum. A poll in 2019 found that nearly 68 percent of its adults wanted independence from Denmark at some point in the future.

If the island's nearly 57,000 people didn't want to become America's 51st state, they could seek to be a U.S. commonwealth like Puerto Rico or Guam. Or they could enter into a "Compact of Free Association" with the U.S., like Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. That would give America exclusive military access to the island and the ability to add more military bases there to discourage incursions by Russia or China.

If Greenlanders weren't interested, Trump is prepared to offer them a deal they can't refuse. He has mentioned trade sanctions and has not ruled out a military takeover. That would be very Putin of him but considerably less risky because Greenland doesn't have its own military. Denmark is responsible for the island's defense, but the Dane's active-duty military is smaller than the New York City Police Department.

While under Denmark's protection, Greenland is covered by NATO's defense umbrella. However, NATO probably never contemplated defending one of its members against another member, particularly the most powerful one.

Equally troubling are reports that some on the Far Right are salivating at the chance to settle a new frontier by reprising America's original Big Steal – the white European Christian invasion of Native American lands to create the United States. Politico reports, "In the eyes of many of the New Right, taking Greenland isn't just in America's material and strategic interests; it's also key to America's spiritual well-being." They believe that "Trump's reelection has brought America to the threshold of a spiritual revival – and that territorial expansion could serve as a necessary catalyst for that transformation." In other words, conquest is good for the spirit.

Politico says others on the Far Right look forward to reviving the "frontier mentality" of America's 19th-century settlers. That's a euphemism for manifest destiny, the settlers' belief that it was God's plan for them to occupy the new land, ravage its natural resources, destroy its indigenous cultures, displace its people from their ancestral lands, and deprive them of the resources for survival. Eighty-eight percent of Greenland's people are of Inuit descent.

The Far Right's opposition to border invasions apparently doesn't apply when its members are the invaders. Call it White Privilege.

So, are there valid reasons for the United States to seek a formal relationship with Greenland? Yes. However, it should only be done with the consent and cooperation of the island's people and without the sins of America's original settlers.

Unfortunately, that isn't Trump's style. One suspects his motivation for annexing Greenland has less to do with national security than with going down in history for the biggest real estate deal since the Louisiana Purchase. Perhaps he sees a new frontier for golf courses, hotels, casinos, and other billionaire playgrounds.

Perhaps the MAGA masses could reserve the new land exclusively for their members, who would leave the mainland to create their version of a more perfect union. That definitely would be in the national interest.

https://the-real-biocene.net/f/watch-out-greenland-manifest-destiny-is-coming-for-you