Why is Donald Trump Jr. in Greenland and why is his dad so obsessed with a country the U.S. has no business owning?

The last few weeks have seen the perpetually unhinged Donald Trump edge into true insanity, as he menaces United States allies with mystifying threats and prepares to embark on a four-year quest of self-enrichment and blatant despotism.

We’ve come to expect the worst from Trump, but Americans still weren’t prepared when the president-elect began, in late 2024, to threaten our allies. He tossed out breezy remarks about Canada, the Panama Canal, and Greenland, indicating that he was prepared to conquer and absorb them into the United States.

Its an insane idea, of course, and in typical Trump fashion it will never happen, but that doesn’t make it any less concerning that the incoming president of the United States feels so comfortable putting our allies ill at ease. It would be unacceptable language as a one-off, but now that Trump’s repeated his threats on numerous occasions, its barely short of warmongering.

We’re unlikely to incite a war against Greenland — and by extension Denmark — anytime soon, but Trump’s language has still put the island’s residents off. The optics are not being helped along by the arrival of Donald Trump Jr., who just flew into the territory for an unexpected visit. When paired with his father’s clear interest in acquiring the island, its little wonder the Trumps are so unwelcome there, so just why is Don. Jr. making the trip?

Why is Don Jr. in Greenland?

Let’s start with the newest development: Don Jr.’s abrupt decision to visit Greenland in early January. The 47-year-old jetted over to the island just weeks after his father first threatened to take it over, but his visit’s supposedly got nothing to do with politics.

Its likely of small comfort to Greenland natives, but Trump Jr. claims he was simply taking a “personal day-trip” to the territory to chat with citizens. He’s not likely to find many fans among the island residents, following Trump’s insistence that “ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for America’s national security, but it looks like he’s trying anyway.

What’s up with Trump’s obsession with seizing Greenland?

Its been weeks since Trump first threatened to acquire Greenland for the United States, but he hasn’t rolled back the rhetoric at all in the time since. He’s insistent that its absorption into the country is of utmost importance to national security, and has broadly claimed that Greenland would be better off as a part of the United States.

Greenland is the world’s largest island, and its occupants are citizens of Denmark, not America. The island, and Denmark as a whole, are key United States allies, however, and threatening them is absolutely not a good look. Particularly when the island’s prime minister already flatly stated that Greenland is “not for sale.”

Criticism against Trump has been running rampant in the weeks since he first commented on Greenland. Conservative MP Rasmus Jarlov took to social media to blast the incoming president, writing that “this level of disrespect from the coming US president towards very, very loyal allies and friends is record-setting.”

Trump, meanwhile, is sticking to his guns. Exactly why he’s so dead-set on the island — other than sheer greed and interest in his legacy — is still unclear, but he’s adamant that Greenland “will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our nation.”