Trump Jr in Greenland on 'tourist' day trip as father eyes territory

Copenhagen: Donald Trump Jr made a private visit to Greenland on Tuesday, just weeks after his father restated his interest in the mineral- and oil-rich Danish autonomous territory, which itself wants independence.

The US President-elect on Monday called the Arctic island "an incredible place", promising that its people would prosper should it ever be annexed by Washington.

"We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform, after reiterating before Christmas that he wanted the United States to take control.

As Trump's son touched down on what he said was a day trip, Danish Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen warned: "Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders."

But Trump Jr was at pains to point out he was not there "to buy Greenland". "I will be talking to people. I'm just going there as a tourist," he said on the social media platform Rumble.

Greenland holds major mineral and oil reserves -- though oil and uranium exploration are banned -- and has a strategic location in the Arctic, already home to a US military base.

Greenlandic media have said he would only be there for several hours and no official meetings were scheduled.

"This particular trip is probably just as Trump Jr said himself, to make video content," Ulrik Pram Gad, a Greenland expert at the Danish Institute for International Studies, told AFP.

"What's worrying is the way Trump (Sr) is talking about international relations, and it can be even worse if he starts 'grabbing land'."