Latest news with #Boassen
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
An evening with Trump's unofficial Greenland envoy
Several hours and rounds later - not the boxing kind - Boassen showed up at Nuuk's largest hotel, where he shook a couple of hands, listened to a lounge singer run through some jazz standards, and shook off a few hostile stares. Former bricklayer. Political influencer. Would-be mining consultant. Man on a mission to help tap Greenland's untapped resources and economic potential. Traitor, some say - especially the guy who slugged him in the face in a Nuuk dive bar in late April. Boassen, 51, says he is versions of all these things. Most of them are a consequence of his championing of President Donald Trump in a place where rare support for an American president who has vowed to take over Greenland "one way or the other" tends to end in eyes rolled, or in Boassen's case, blackened. Boassen is Greenland's de facto MAGA representative. "This is about a fight for the Greenlandic people," Boassen said one evening in June as he sat on a sofa in his cozy home in Greenland's capital. "It's not because I hate Denmark. It's about the Danish power in Greenland." Boassen's mostly stopped wearing them now because of the Trump backlash in Greenland, but he still occasionally dons a MAGA cap and T-shirts with American flags with things like "American badass" emblazoned on them. He's been a fan of Trump since 2019, when the U.S. president first started talking about acquiring Greenland. Trump says the United States needs to "get Greenland" for national security reasons. It's in a strategic location in the Arctic. Due to melting ice, new shipping Arctic routes and military activity are increasing. It is also rich in commodities like oil and gold and rare earth minerals essential for manufacturing smartphones and other advanced technologies. Boassen is part of a very small but vocal minority of Greenlanders who appreciate Trump's interest, polls show. But his support for Trump hasn't always been carefree. Boassen's been teased and mocked and even faced death threats on social media. He professes to have an almost spiritual connection to Trump. He doesn't agree with every word he says. Boassen wants Greenland to be an independent country, but wants it to to have a close security and economic alliance with the United States. A Greenlandic son who's into Trump Born in Qaqortoq, a town in southern Greenland, Boassen was raised by a single mother. Money was tight. Their home was modest. Heat was in short supply. That world is a far cry from the one he now seeks to inhabit as an Arctic political player with the ear of some in Trump's inner circle. "Trump is the one who can save us, though it's hard to support him when we don't know his plan," he said. 'One way or the other': Five ways Trump's Greenland saga could play out Boassen isn't a social media influencer. But he owes some of his nascent influence to social media. He was discovered on Facebook by Thomas Dans, an American advisor to the under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs during Trump's first term. Dans was also a member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Now he promotes closer U.S.-Greenland ties. "I learned of Jorgen from friends in the Greenlandic community," said Dans. "He was being called 'Trump's Greenlandic Son.' I said, 'I need to meet this guy.'" Usha Vance's Greenland adventure: Why it got derailed by a dogsled race across ice and snow Dans eventually tapped Boassen to serve as Greenland director for American Daybreak, a nonprofit organization he founded that works to educate and advance Trump's America First foreign policy, particularly in the Arctic. It was American Daybreak that, in March, sought to arrange a visit to Greenland by Usha Vance, wife of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, for Greenland's national sled dog race. But after reports of planned protests by Greenlandic activists, the visit was revised to a brief stop by the Vances at a remote U.S. military outpost on the island. A Greenlandic pugilist Boassen has an imposing build. He's a boxing enthusiast and used to box and train boxers. He wears his hair swept sharply to one side. Like more than 90% of 57,000 Greenlanders, he identifies as Inuit, the indigenous people who inhabit the Arctic region. But Boassen's father is from Denmark, which he said accounts for his light skin tone and blue eyes. Greenland was colonized by Denmark beginning in the 18th century. That era ended in 1953, when Greenland became a self-governing territory. Boassen is also a fast talker who courts publicity. 'Buy us!': Greenlanders shocked, intrigued, bewildered by Trump zeal for Arctic territory He has not shied away from the relative fame that his association with the Trump cause has brought him Greenland. Most days he fields requests from journalists from around the world who want to see or talk to the guy they see as Trump's unofficial local "Greenland envoy." More than a few journalists have been to his house. "He's a natural leader with a deep love for Greenland and its people, coupled with a bold and gregarious personality and expert communication skills," Dans said of Boassen. "He's also a true fighter, both as a former boxer as well as a modern Inuit man, formed in his people's great Arctic traditions." 'We are different from Denmark' Over the course of an evening spent with a USA TODAY reporter this summer, Boassen's phone constantly pinged. He called Dans and put him on speakerphone. He video-called a friend in Greenland's high North, not far from the Pituffik Space Base the Vances visited, because he wanted to prove there were Greenlandic fellow-travelers when it came to support for Trump. Boassen is considering whether he wants to grant a Danish filmmaker access to his life story for a documentary. 'Crazy beautiful place with dark side': Greenland, but not as you know it Boassen's wife did not want to participate in the interview but she occasionally sighed deeply as her husband spoke and gave him a knowing side-eye. She sometimes tried to shush him from the other end of the sofa if his comments wandered too closely into their personal lives. "We are different from Denmark even if the Danes have been here for 300 years," said Boassen, as he held forth on all the ways he believes that Greenland's Inuit population has suffered under Danish rule: sterilization scandals from colonial times, poor job prospects, elevated rates of suicide and alcoholism. Boassen insisted on sharing a selection of his "greatest hits," preserved in YouTube video clips saved on his TV. There he was at the arrivals door at the airport in Nuuk when Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland in January, a trip he helped coordinate. It came about after Boassen spent a few weeks canvassing for the former president on the streets of Pittsburgh during the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. Boassen went to an election night party in Palm Beach, Florida, near Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. He attended Trump's inauguration, along with Kuno Fenker, an opposition lawmaker who is a member of Greenland's nationalist Naleraq party. It too wants closer relations with the United States, though it seeks independence for Greenland. On his cellphone, Boassen had photos of himself with the American musician Kid Rock, MMA fighter Conor McGregor, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, political commentator Ben Shapiro and other MAGA-affiliated personalities. Greenland not for sale: It is welcoming Americans with direct flights "He has a very good feeling for how ordinary people in Greenland are feeling about the issues that impact their lives day-to-day," said Fenker, the lawmaker, who is a close friend of Boassen's. In his home, while sipping a gin and tonic, then a beer, then coffee, Boassen said of himself, "I'm the Che Guevara of Greenland." It was a reference to the Argentine doctor and revolutionary who fought for social change in Latin America before he was killed in a Bolivian jungle with the help of the CIA. That characterization, of course, is a stretch and was made partly in jest, which Boassen admitted, but it still speaks to how serious he takes his dream of one day seeing an independent Greenland. MAGA in Romania A few weeks earlier, Boassen had been in Romania with Dans. Boassen said they were invited to observe Romania's election by George Simion, a far-right candidate in that country's presidential election. Simion, Boassen said, was a big believer in Trump's MAGA ideology. (Simion lost the vote, and later alleged it was due to foreign interference.) When Boassen's wife spied an opportunity, she grabbed the TV remote and switched channels to a rerun of a music festival where some of her favorite bands, such as Green Day, the American punk rockers, and Radiohead, a British alternative rock band, were playing. She came along to the boxing match, too. Reluctantly. On the walk to the sports hall from their house, Boassen said he was trying to form more partnerships with Greenlandic officials to be useful to Trump's White House, but it's been difficult lately to get the attention of the U.S. administration because it is preoccupied with other crises in Ukraine, Iran and the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. He said he's convinced his phone is being tapped by the Danish authorities. He admitted that he is not making a living from his work with American Daybreak. He that said people often ask him if he's concerned that maybe Trump is just "using him" in a way that isn't in Greenland's best interests, in ways he doesn't appreciate. "I don't know," was Boassen's answer to that question. "But I'd rather have Trump as the U.S. president right now than Kamala Harris," he said. "And anyway, bricklaying wasn't making me much money. It's too honest. No one will hire me because I support Trump." Kim Hjelmgaard is an international correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow him on Bluesky, Instagram and LinkedIn.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Politics
- USA Today
'I'm the Che Guevara of Greenland': An evening with Trump's 'Greenlandic son'
Special Report: Greenlander Jorgen Boassen is a man on a mission to help tap Greenland's untapped resources and economic potential. He's been called President Donald Trump's 'Greenlandic son.' NUUK, Greenland − First, Jorgen Boassen wanted to meet for a gin and tonic. Immediately. At his house. "Can you pick up tonic and limes on your way?" he said, urgency in his voice. Then Boassen wanted to hotfoot it over to a cavernous sports hall for a Thai boxing match where a DJ was playing a remixed version of the British-Nigerian singer Sade's 1980s global hit "Smooth Operator." Several hours and rounds later − not the boxing kind − Boassen showed up at Nuuk's largest hotel, where he shook a couple of hands, listened to a lounge singer run through some jazz standards, and shook off a few hostile stares. Former bricklayer. Political influencer. Would-be mining consultant. Man on a mission to help tap Greenland's untapped resources and economic potential. Traitor, some say − especially the guy who slugged him in the face in a Nuuk dive bar in late April. Boassen, 51, says he is versions of all these things. Most of them are a consequence of his championing of President Donald Trump in a place where rare support for an American president who has vowed to take over Greenland "one way or the other" tends to end in eyes rolled, or in Boassen's case, blackened. Boassen is Greenland's de facto MAGA representative. "This is about a fight for the Greenlandic people," Boassen said one evening in June as he sat on a sofa in his cozy home in Greenland's capital. "It's not because I hate Denmark. It's about the Danish power in Greenland." Boassen's mostly stopped wearing them now because of the Trump backlash in Greenland, but he still occasionally dons a MAGA cap and T-shirts with American flags with things like "American badass" emblazoned on them. He's been a fan of Trump since 2019, when the U.S. president first started talking about acquiring Greenland. Trump says the United States needs to "get Greenland" for national security reasons. It's in a strategic location in the Arctic. Due to melting ice, new shipping Arctic routes and military activity are increasing. It is also rich in commodities like oil and gold and rare earth minerals essential for manufacturing smartphones and other advanced technologies. Boassen is part of a very small but vocal minority of Greenlanders who appreciate Trump's interest, polls show. But his support for Trump hasn't always been carefree. Boassen's been teased and mocked and even faced death threats on social media. He professes to have an almost spiritual connection to Trump. He doesn't agree with every word he says. Boassen wants Greenland to be an independent country, but wants it to to have a close security and economic alliance with the United States. A Greenlandic son who's into Trump Born in Qaqortoq, a town in southern Greenland, Boassen was raised by a single mother. Money was tight. Their home was modest. Heat was in short supply. That world is a far cry from the one he now seeks to inhabit as an Arctic political player with the ear of some in Trump's inner circle. "Trump is the one who can save us, though it's hard to support him when we don't know his plan," he said. 'One way or the other': Five ways Trump's Greenland saga could play out Boassen isn't a social media influencer. But he owes some of his nascent influence to social media. He was discovered on Facebook by Thomas Dans, an American advisor to the under secretary of the Treasury for international affairs during Trump's first term. Dans was also a member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. Now he promotes closer U.S.-Greenland ties. "I learned of Jorgen from friends in the Greenlandic community," said Dans. "He was being called 'Trump's Greenlandic Son.' I said, 'I need to meet this guy.'" Usha Vance's Greenland adventure: Why it got derailed by a dogsled race across ice and snow Dans eventually tapped Boassen to serve as Greenland director for American Daybreak, a nonprofit organization he founded that works to educate and advance Trump's America First foreign policy, particularly in the Arctic. It was American Daybreak that, in March, sought to arrange a visit to Greenland by Usha Vance, wife of U.S. Vice President JD Vance, for Greenland's national sled dog race. But after reports of planned protests by Greenlandic activists, the visit was revised to a brief stop by the Vances at a remote U.S. military outpost on the island. A Greenlandic pugilist Boassen has an imposing build. He's a boxing enthusiast and used to box and train boxers. He wears his hair swept sharply to one side. Like more than 90% of 57,000 Greenlanders, he identifies as Inuit, the indigenous people who inhabit the Arctic region. But Boassen's father is from Denmark, which he said accounts for his light skin tone and blue eyes. Greenland was colonized by Denmark beginning in the 18th century. That era ended in 1953, when Greenland became a self-governing territory. Boassen is also a fast talker who courts publicity. 'Buy us!': Greenlanders shocked, intrigued, bewildered by Trump zeal for Arctic territory He has not shied away from the relative fame that his association with the Trump cause has brought him Greenland. Most days he fields requests from journalists from around the world who want to see or talk to the guy they see as Trump's unofficial local "Greenland envoy." More than a few journalists have been to his house. "He's a natural leader with a deep love for Greenland and its people, coupled with a bold and gregarious personality and expert communication skills," Dans said of Boassen. "He's also a true fighter, both as a former boxer as well as a modern Inuit man, formed in his people's great Arctic traditions." 'We are different from Denmark' Over the course of an evening spent with a USA TODAY reporter this summer, Boassen's phone constantly pinged. He called Dans and put him on speakerphone. He video-called a friend in Greenland's high North, not far from the Pituffik Space Base the Vances visited, because he wanted to prove there were Greenlandic fellow-travelers when it came to support for Trump. Boassen is considering whether he wants to grant a Danish filmmaker access to his life story for a documentary. 'Crazy beautiful place with dark side': Greenland, but not as you know it Boassen's wife did not want to participate in the interview but she occasionally sighed deeply as her husband spoke and gave him a knowing side-eye. She sometimes tried to shush him from the other end of the sofa if his comments wandered too closely into their personal lives. "We are different from Denmark even if the Danes have been here for 300 years," said Boassen, as he held forth on all the ways he believes that Greenland's Inuit population has suffered under Danish rule: sterilization scandals from colonial times, poor job prospects, elevated rates of suicide and alcoholism. Boassen insisted on sharing a selection of his "greatest hits," preserved in YouTube video clips saved on his TV. There he was at the arrivals door at the airport in Nuuk when Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland in January, a trip he helped coordinate. It came about after Boassen spent a few weeks canvassing for the former president on the streets of Pittsburgh during the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. Boassen went to an election night party in Palm Beach, Florida, near Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. He attended Trump's inauguration, along with Kuno Fenker, an opposition lawmaker who is a member of Greenland's nationalist Naleraq party. It too wants closer relations with the United States, though it seeks independence for Greenland. On his cellphone, Boassen had photos of himself with the American musician Kid Rock, MMA fighter Conor McGregor, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, political commentator Ben Shapiro and other MAGA-affiliated personalities. Greenland not for sale: It is welcoming Americans with direct flights "He has a very good feeling for how ordinary people in Greenland are feeling about the issues that impact their lives day-to-day," said Fenker, the lawmaker, who is a close friend of Boassen's. In his home, while sipping a gin and tonic, then a beer, then coffee, Boassen said of himself, "I'm the Che Guevara of Greenland." It was a reference to the Argentine doctor and revolutionary who fought for social change in Latin America before he was killed in a Bolivian jungle with the help of the CIA. That characterization, of course, is a stretch and was made partly in jest, which Boassen admitted, but it still speaks to how serious he takes his dream of one day seeing an independent Greenland. MAGA in Romania A few weeks earlier, Boassen had been in Romania with Dans. Boassen said they were invited to observe Romania's election by George Simion, a far-right candidate in that country's presidential election. Simion, Boassen said, was a big believer in Trump's MAGA ideology. (Simion lost the vote, and later alleged it was due to foreign interference.) When Boassen's wife spied an opportunity, she grabbed the TV remote and switched channels to a rerun of a music festival where some of her favorite bands, such as Green Day, the American punk rockers, and Radiohead, a British alternative rock band, were playing. She came along to the boxing match, too. Reluctantly. On the walk to the sports hall from their house, Boassen said he was trying to form more partnerships with Greenlandic officials to be useful to Trump's White House, but it's been difficult lately to get the attention of the U.S. administration because it is preoccupied with other crises in Ukraine, Iran and the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. He said he's convinced his phone is being tapped by the Danish authorities. He admitted that he is not making a living from his work with American Daybreak. He that said people often ask him if he's concerned that maybe Trump is just "using him" in a way that isn't in Greenland's best interests, in ways he doesn't appreciate. "I don't know," was Boassen's answer to that question. "But I'd rather have Trump as the U.S. president right now than Kamala Harris," he said. "And anyway, bricklaying wasn't making me much money. It's too honest. No one will hire me because I support Trump." Kim Hjelmgaard is an international correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow him on Bluesky, Instagram and LinkedIn.
ABC News
05-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Donald Trump's 'Greenlandic son' thinks the US has given Greenland a bargaining chip
With a red MAGA hat proudly displayed on his dashboard and windscreen wipers struggling to keep up with heavy snow, Jorgen Boassen gives me a tour of Greenland's capital Nuuk. Just a few months earlier, the builder and boxing enthusiast, who describes himself as "Trump's Greenlandic son", did a very similar tour for a special guest — Donald Trump's actual son, Don Junior. "[It was] incredible. You know, it's said this is the new Kennedy dynasty, so it's very honourable for me to guide him," says Boassen. The trip came just weeks after the US president reiterated his desire to own the territory, saying in a post on Truth Social: "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity." Jorgen Boassen poses with Don Junior during his visit to Nuuk in January. ( Reuters ) Jorgen hopes Trump's interest in Greenland can help secure independence from Denmark. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) Don Junior's visit sparked outrage in Greenland and even allegations that his team had paid homeless people to pretend to be supporters. Boassen denies that. "No-one was paid. I should be paid if someone has been paid," he says. "They got the (MAGA) caps. What people are complaining about today is … there are not enough MAGA hats here in Nuuk." One opinion poll shows the overwhelming majority of Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States, but a small minority are open to the idea — or at least see it as an opportunity. Boassen falls into that camp and is a devoted fan of the US president. He was even flown to the US by a Trump lobbyist last year to campaign for him, and managed to score an invite to the election night party at West Palm Beach where he first met Don Junior. Greenlanders are generally opposed to Trump's rhetoric, but some see it as an opportunity. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) But his devotion has made him unpopular with some of his fellow Greenlanders. "I got two death threats. I got punched in my face. I got hate messages," he says. He's putting up with the abuse, not because he wants to be owned by the United States, but because he believes Donald Trump may hold the key to Greenlandic independence from Denmark. "We should become a state of our own self and become independent because that is what Greenland wants to do and that always has been the dream, but we will be the closest ally to US." Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and while Boassen's love of Donald Trump is not widespread, his desire for independence is. But as the song goes, breaking up is hard to do, in this case because Denmark bankrolls around half of Greenland's budget. Greenland is part of Denmark but has its own government. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) With a tiny population occupying a huge and inhospitable island, an independent Greenland needs new partners. And Boassen is not alone in thinking the man who literally wrote the book on "the art of the deal" has given Greenland a bargaining chip in negotiations with Denmark. "I think that we have a better cards in Greenland because of Trump," said Jorgen. "He's businessman, of course, America first, but we also have used this momentum to try to get some of that." The shadow of Danish colonisation Dog trainer Nive Heilmann is preparing for another day on the snow in Illulisat, over 500 kilometres north of Nuuk. Unlike Boassen, she's no fan of Donald Trump, but she does see an opportunity in his obsession with Greenland. "What Donald Trump said, as much as I dislike all this, I see a movement in Greenland of us realising and knowing our worth and demanding the respect," says Heilmann. Some Greenlanders were 'taken away and shipped off to Denmark,' says Nive Heilman. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) She believes the US president is forcing former coloniser Denmark to confront its dark history in the Arctic island, and acknowledge the wounds it caused. One of Denmark's most horrific practices involved the forced contraception of almost half of Greenlandic Inuit girls of child-bearing age during the 60s and 70s. "There's this story that Denmark was the nice colonisers," she says. "They were the first to free the slaves and they were nice to the Greenlandic people. We were allowed to keep our language. "Well, some of us were, and some of us were not allowed to have children, and some of us were taken away and shipped off to Denmark." That's what happened to Heilmann's grandmother. At 14 years old she was taken to be Denmark and told she was Danish. Nive says Trump's threats to take over Greenland are re-traumatising some still affected by colonisation under Denmark. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) "So that's part of the story that they really need to recognise," says Heilmann. "And you can't turn back time and change whatever's been done to us, but you can at least acknowledge it and say, 'Yeah, that was really not good. And we are sorry about that.'" But she says Donald Trump's comments have caused deep fear among Greenlanders and are re-traumatising a people who've been colonised before. "I see people and they say, they worry that the American military is here next week. You wake up in the morning and they're just here. That's a scary thought." Pushing back against Trump Greenland's government has been quick to condemn Donald Trump's comments and declare that Greenland is not for sale. Mineral Resources Minister Naaja Nathanielsen has also questioned the US president's motives. Greenland is wedged between two superpowers, the US and Russia, and has also drawn an increased interest from China. That's led Donald Trump to declare the US needs the island for national security. Greenland's mineral resources minister Naaja Nathanielsen. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) But Ms Nathanielsen says the government is open to discussing a military deal with America that would expand its base presence. "We understand why they have these concerns and this is really an open door for us," she says. "We are open to discussing military installations or others in Greenland besides the base they already have." Many have speculated that Donald Trump is really interested in Greenland's vast critical mineral resources, many of which are essential to the green transition. China's control of global supply for some of these key minerals has sent the US looking to secure them elsewhere. Danish naval ships patrol Greenland's waters. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) "It seems like maybe more rhetoric than an actual problem because they could just invest if they so wanted," Ms Nathanielsen says. "Right now, there's only one American-based owner in the mineral sector compared to 23 from Canada and, from the UK, 23 also. So this doesn't seem like a very plausible reason either." She believes the real motive is simply American expansionism. "I think there is an ideological movement that really truly believes that America is so great, it should expand, and I think that is also one of the reasons why some have an interest in Greenland." Whatever the motive, the government has made it clear they will continue to fight. Greenland's PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen at a rally in Nuuk protesting US plans for Greenland. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) When the ABC asked newly elected Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen if he was open to a deal with the US, he was clear. "No, no, no. Right now, I think we stand together with the message, any decision about Greenland will be made in Greenland and that's how it is, and that's not negotiable." Can Greenland make a deal? Greenland's current landlord Denmark is also anxious about Donald Trump's obsession with its former colony. A poll conducted earlier this year found more Danes saw the US as a threat than Iran or North Korea. Politicians, like leader of the Social Liberal Party Martin Lidegaard, have had to play a delicate game with a president who has a propensity for retribution. A protester holds a sign with a message for Donald Trump and US vice president JD Vance. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) "Denmark, as a small loyal ally to the US, is facing a kind of foreign policy crisis right now because the US is our strongest military ally," says Mr Lindegaard. "And when that ally suddenly wants to grab a part of the kingdom's territory, we are in a new situation." Donald Trump hasn't ruled out using force to take Greenland — a threat that's worried politicians like him. "We take it quite seriously because we are both military and economically very close to the US," he says. "On the other hand, we are quite determined that it's a very strong principle that you don't change borders like that and we are not in the situation as Denmark that we can sell anything, at least not Greenland, which is its own population and own territory." The US president's interest in Greenland has forced Denmark to have a difficult reckoning with its colonial legacy in the territory. Greenland lies at a strategic point between Russia and the USA. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) Martin Lidegaard acknowledges mistakes were made. "I do understand that there is a big part of the Greenlandic population who feel mistreated and shameful about the past," he says. "And I also think myself that Denmark has made many mistakes historically. I also think that the true problem is so complicated. "This is not to take away the Danish responsibility. We should carry that and probably also more open than we do today, but we have to get over with the past in order to focus on the future." Conservative Party MP Rasmus Jarlov is dismissive of the idea that Greenlanders may see a better life if they break away from Denmark and partner with the US instead. "There are very, very few people in Greenland who think that it would be better to be part of the United States than to be part of Denmark," he says. "I know that many Americans think that being American is the best thing that could happen to anyone in the world, but the rest of the world does not see it that way." Greenland says it's open to closer strategic ties with the US and welcomes more American mining investment. ( Foreign Correspondent: Greg Nelson ACS ) He's concerned Donald Trump's comments are also threatening the future of NATO, an important military alliance of 32 countries formed in the aftermath of World War II. "If the US does not accept that they can't take territories from NATO allies, obviously NATO will be dead," he says. "We have NATO to protect us from foreign powers taking our territory, and if foreign powers within NATO try to take our territory, then we don't have an alliance anymore." Watch Greenland: Hot Property tonight on Foreign Correspondent at 8pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
