Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland. Then things got weird.

Summary
In a quiet corner of the island, locals suddenly find themselves at the center of a geopolitical power play.For half an hour the free beer flowed at Daddy’s, a low-ceilinged pub located on a back street of this remote ice-encrusted capital, while “Y.M.C.A." blasted out of the sound system.
Donald Trump Jr. mingled with a small group of hastily gathered MAGA-hat-wearing Greenlanders to extol the virtues of being part of America. Some locals did the Donald Trump dance while being filmed. And then the president-elect’s son left. “It was very weird," says Malik Dollerup-Scheibel, a 20-year-old Greenlandic student who attended the event last week.
Life in Nuuk hasn’t been the same since Donald Trump offered to buy the place. The low-key capital, 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle, where highlights include the annual snow-sculpting festival and eerie Northern Lights that streak the night sky, has for days been besieged by journalists from Russia to Brazil all asking the same question: Does Greenland want to be part of America? On a recent day, a news ticker in the center of town beamed on a loop the answer from the Greenlandic prime minister to Donald Trump: The autonomous Danish territory isn’t for sale. It is a view that most locals echo.
But the Trump family’s opening gambit has lighted a fire under something else here, with residents suddenly enthused about new possibilities, be it independence from Greenland’s historical colonial master, Denmark, or an influx of investment from America. “I think people are a bit frightened but also excited that something could happen, that new industries could come," says Ivik Paulsen, a lawyer in Nuuk.
Six years ago when Trump first floated the idea of purchasing the world’s biggest island, locals dismissed it as a joke. Trump himself even joined in, promising on social media that he wouldn’t build a huge Trump Tower anywhere near Nuuk, where roughly a third of Greenland’s 57,000 people reside in brightly colored low-rise buildings hugging the coast of the Labrador Sea.
No one is laughing now. A war in Ukraine has reignited a competition between the great powers, and Greenland, with its strategic location near the Arctic and its abundant oil and uranium reserves, is back on the map. As the climate warms, the ice around Greenland will recede, opening up new waterways to speed trade between East and West and provide easier access to mineral deposits. Trump says grabbing this frozen part of the North American continent, which is slightly larger than Mexico, is vital for U.S. national security.
During a news conference earlier this month Trump didn’t rule out using force and said Greenland’s Danish owners could be hit by tariffs if they didn’t cooperate. After his statements, a senior member of Russia’s parliament this week suggested that Moscow also put an offer in for Greenland.
Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said the territory was “entering a new era, in a new year where Greenland is in the center of the world."
Nuuk is a place where nearly everyone seems to know each other. In winter the sun rises at 11 a.m. and sets at 4 p.m. The weather hovers around zero degrees. There is one mall, a golf course that opens only in summer and a handful of restaurants. Local delicacies include whale blubber and seal meat. The economy is powered by fishing for halibut and shrimp.
The population’s small size means that when geopolitics comes calling it can quickly cause a ruckus, says Ebbe Volquardsen, an associate professor at the University of Greenland. If you have a disagreement with someone “it is quite hard because you see them in the supermarket every day," he says.
Greenland was colonized in the 18th century and is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which subsidizes the territory to the tune of $600 million a year. About 90% of the Greenlandic population are Inuit and nearly all of Greenland’s main political parties support independence. The territory has its own parliament but relies on the Danes for security and monetary policy.
Ahead of an election in April, Greenland’s politicians are locked in debate over whether to embrace Trump to further their quest for independence, or reject him.
On a recent visit to the territory’s pastel-colored parliamentary offices, Greenland’s finance minister, Erik Jensen, was lounging on a sofa in a room strumming an acoustic guitar. Shortly after Trump’s election win, Jensen put out feelers to invite the president-elect to visit Greenland, saying it was time for more cooperation with the U.S. to bolster the economy. “We want some good cooperation with the U.S. because we have a lot of natural resources we would like to use to ultimately become more independent," he said. In an office at the other end of the corridor sat Pipaluk Lynge-Rasmussen, a politician who says binding with America is a bad idea, adding that it has a record of steamrolling indigenous populations to access natural resources.
Pele Broberg, a pro-independence politician, says that, whatever happens, Trump is forcing the government in Greenland to confront whether and how it actually wants to break away from Denmark. “I love it," he says.
Denmark, fearing that most of its kingdom’s landmass might suddenly leave, has discovered a new appreciation for Greenland, whose strategic location has long given the small Nordic country an outsize influence on the global stage. The Danish government in December said it would spend more on its military to secure the region. In 2023, Denmark moved Nuuk into a time zone one hour closer to Copenhagen. It is putting Greenlandic imagery on its new banknotes. Meanwhile, Danish officials are backchanneling with Trump officials to make the case that a deal can be done to bolster security and access to mining without a full takeover of Greenland. A 1951 treaty already gives America the right to build military bases on the island, and the U.S. manages a space station in northwestern Greenland.
Trump Jr.’s private visit caught politicians unawares. After landing in Nuuk last week, his entourage went to an upscale hotel in the center of town, where MAGA hats were handed out to a group that included a number of homeless people who were drafted in off the street, says Jørgen Boassen, a 50-year-old bricklayer who helped organize the event. They were treated to a free meal and Trump Jr. asked the group what they thought about the Danes. His father dialed in on a video call to tell them America would look after them. After a trip to the pub and photos in front of a statue of Hans Egede, the Dane who first colonized Nuuk, the group dispersed.
“It wasn’t very respectful," says Jørgen Dalager, as he prepared his boat to go fishing for halibut from the city’s port, while in the background men with metal poles smashed holes in the frozen sea to free their boats. Across town in the atrium of the University of Greenland, an area called the “American corner"—which featured diner-style seating and a picture of a Cadillac—was dismantled in recent days after Trump’s overtures.
Dollerup-Scheibel, the student, says he regrets ever going to the pub with Trump Jr., saying it was all an elaborate stunt aimed at convincing U.S.-based MAGA supporters that Greenlanders want to be taken over, which he says isn’t the case. Sitting at home, the student says he just wanted some free beer and to meet a famous American. He didn’t expect his face to be plastered all over social media in a MAGA hat. “This is probably the most shameful thing I own," he says, holding the hat he was given.
The weirdness isn’t abating. On a recent day American YouTubers dressed in stars and stripes staged a prank in Nuuk, handing out $100 bills and “Make Greenland Great Again" hats. Teenagers grabbed the cash and went to the bank to exchange it for Danish kroner. One man ripped up a bill and stomped on the red cap.
That night at Daddy’s, those students were splashing the cash on beers and liquor. “I bought new shoes," said one, pointing at his feet. “I love America!"
Write to Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com