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By Brendan Cole and Hannah Parry
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A champion of Greenland’s sovereignty has reacted with anger to an image of the country overlaid with the U.S. flag after President Donald Trump announced a deal with Denmark to boost the military presence on the Arctic island.
Trump announced a deal on Friday for the U.S. to get “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen posted on Instagram that Copenhagen was optimistic about the deal which will be signed soon, writing, “Next week could be a good week … for Greenland, Denmark, and the United States alike."
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Orla Joelson, who has condemned Trump’s prior suggestions that the U.S. could seize the island, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, took aim at suggestions by MAGA users that the U.S. now acquired Greenland.
'Shameless Propaganda'
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Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, posted an image of the stars and stripes superimposed over the island, to which Joelson replied, “this is shameless propaganda."
“The United States is NOT getting ownership of Greenland. Stop plastering the U.S. flag on our land as if Greenland has somehow become American territory. It hasn’t.!!”
Miller had posted a similar image in January which included the map with the word "SOON.” The message prompted the Danish ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Møller Sørensen, to urge Washington to "respect" Denmark's territory.
In a follow up post, Joelson wrote on X on Friday: “Some MAGA supporters are so stupid that they actually believe the United States is going to own Greenland,” adding that it expands military access and veto rights, but involved no transfer of sovereignty.
In his address to the United Nations on Tuesday, Trump claimed that the U.S., Greenland and Denmark had agreed upon a deal that "gives the United States permanent control over security and all of the needs on that territory."
"The United States has reached an unprecedented agreement regarding the northern frontier of North America," he said. "This agreement, made with the Kingdom of Denmark an incredible, beautiful country, and the Greenland people itself, gives the United States permanent control over security and all of the needs on that territory.
"We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent, and also Europe and other places. No U.S. adversary will ever be permitted to establish a military presence in Greenland anymore, or make sensitive investments there without our express written approval."
He added that the U.S. will immediately begin "developing a large military presence in the appropriate locations will be building two very major military bases." These appear to be in addition to the bases the U.S. already has in Greenland.
Trump said that the agreement will be signed later today.
When contacted by Newsweek, the US State Department said that the deal was an "unprecedented agreement with Greenland and Denmark, permanently guaranteeing U.S. security interests in the Arctic at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer."
"President Trump has obtained a historic deal that no other U.S. President in history could have delivered, completely and permanently satisfying all U.S. demands," the statement added.
Newsweek has contacted Joelson, the Danish foreign ministry for comment.
Spending US Tax Dollars on a 'Block of Ice You Don't Own'
Underneath Miller's post on Friday, other X uses reacted strongly.
"How would you interpret the veracity of Katie Miller's depiction of Greenland in Stars and Stripes?" wrote the Danish Dude, "please—in a soft tone that doesn’t create hysteria—explain the new deal with regards to changes to the already existing deal of 1951, with regards to USA ownership issues of Greenlandic soil."
X account stop tRumpnado posted: "They didn't even extend it. They just read the existing 1951 agreement out loud. They did nothing & it's incredibly disrespectful to Greenland 🇬🇱 to smear our flag across their land. Katie Miller is disgusting."
Jannik Nielsen posted: "You got the right to spend your tax dollars on defending a block of ice you don't own and will never own."
Another X account, Paul O Canadiano🇨🇦🇵🇹 posted: "you got the wrong flag on Greenland. And congratulations signing an agreement that recognizes Greenland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Hopefully the U.S. administration will continue this approach with Canada, too."
What Has Been Agreed?
Trump has touted the deal as giving the U.S. permanent control over security, in Greenland, but Denmark and Greenland say it preserves their sovereignty and right to self-determination.
Trump said that the U.S. would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland.”
However, the U.S. already has a presence on the island, and the right to expand bases, albeit through NATO of which Denmark is a founding member.
Observers noted that the deal appeared to be an extension from their previous agreement from 1951 which allowed the U.S. to build military bases in Greenland. The text has not been released so it is unclear how much the deal will be new.
Citing a U.S. State Department official, the Associated Press reported that the agreement would guarantee that China and Russia cannot have a base in Greenland and limits adversaries’ investments in the island.
Trump had made false claims of Chinese and Russian military forces were off the island’s coastline.
The State Department said under this agreement, only the U.S. and our allies can make sensitive investments in Greenland, eliminating the previous status quo in which adversaries have been investing in Greenland’s sensitive sectors without investment screening.
Reworking an Existing Deal
“This is more or less the same deal that has been in place in Greenland for eight decades,” author and journalist Anne Applebaum wrote on X, “any new nuances could have been added without the threats, drama, clumsy covert campaigns and overt attempts to buy influence.”
However, the U.S. State Department told Newsweek that Greenland will forever be a part of the strategic defense area of North America, and excludes any adversary from Greenland and the surrounding region.
"Under the previous status quo, any country, including adversaries, could be allowed to build a military base in Greenland or send troops to Greenland," the statement said, "by contrast, under this agreement no non-NATO country may build a base in Greenland or maintain a troop presence in Greenland."
"This agreement ensures that this deal lasts forever and remains fully in effect, even if Greenland becomes a fully independent country," the State Department added.
Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the deal will be signed by the three governments at next week’s United Nations General Assembly, but parliamentary action is still needed by the Danish and Greenland governments.
Meanwhile, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal benefits all three governments and “recognizes Greenland’s interests.”
Trump alarmed NATO and was condemned internationally when he floated the idea of seizing Greenland and not ruling out military force but the issue had been overtaken by his military operation to oust former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Iran War.
Contact Newsweek editor on this story: Edward Pearcey.
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