After catching President Donald Trump’s eye in his first term, Greenland has reemerged as a prospect for U.S. acquisition. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has told lawmakers that the U.S. seeks to buy the island, Trump asserts that we need it for defense reasons, and White House adviser Stephen Miller insists that Greenland should “obviously” be part of the United States.
Overall, I am becoming more nervous rather than pleased, as I hold two views firmly: The United States eventually should come into possession of Greenland; and right now, the United States should back off altogether.
Where do those views—seemingly at odds—come from, and how do they fit together?
First, Greenland is most valuable in the hands of the U.S.
My vision is that someday the world’s largest island will hold a status roughly comparable to that of Puerto Rico. Greenlanders would have the full protection of the United States, and they also would be U.S. citizens, with full rights to migrate to the mainland. At the same time, they could have their own legislature and elect their own leaders, as Puerto Rico does today. Puerto Rico has held several referendums on independence and has rejected it each time—perhaps in part because it remains, despite economic problems, wealthier than almost anywhere else in the Caribbean.
