Donald Trump Jr. made a whirlwind visit to Greenland on Tuesday — as a tourist, he says. He was welcomed by local supporters and a Danish newspaper even reported on the visit.

The trip follows recent comments from his father, President-elect Donald Trump, who expressed interest in the U.S. purchasing the island.

Trump Jr. told local media that he was in Greenland for a “very long personal day trip” – with no shopping.

Here’s what you should know about Greenland and Trump’s interest in the autonomous region of Denmark.

What did Trump say about the USA and Greenland?

The president-elect spoke about buying Greenland while on the campaign trail, sparking renewed interest last month after he said on Truth Social: “For reasons of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes “That ownership and… control of Greenland is an absolute necessity.”

Ahead of his son’s trip to Greenland this week, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Greenland is an incredible place and the people will benefit tremendously from it if and when it becomes part of our nation” and that “this is a deal that must be implemented without fail.” “must happen.”

During a press conference on Tuesday, the president-elect said he could not rule out using military or economic coercion to seize Greenland or the Panama Canal.

Trump’s push to buy Greenland dates back to at least August 2019, during his first term in the White House. At the time, he defended his idea, among other things, by saying that he was not the first US politician to propose it.

So why Greenland?

It is not entirely clear what ambitions Trump has for a US-controlled Greenland. But on Tuesday he said the U.S. needed both Greenland and the Panama Canal for “economic security.”

Experts say Greenland has great value both geopolitically and as a source of vital minerals that could help a country in the long term.

“From an Arctic perspective, Greenland is our view of everything that’s going on, including the Russian-controlled Northern Sea Route,” said Amanda Lynch, a professor of geosciences at Brown University. tells NPR. “In addition, Greenland has many resources – not only hydrocarbons, but also rare earth minerals and uranium. And when we think about the green energy transition, access to rare earth minerals is particularly important for every country.”

However, it is not very likely that Trump could take over Greenland, says Lynch. Instead, it would be more productive for the U.S. to pursue strong partnerships and help sovereign governments “develop their assets and cooperate with us.”

“And if we are positive players in this space, then I think that is both the more positive and the more likely path forward,” she says.

Greenland is about three times the size of Texas and has a population of more than 56,000 people. It is an autonomous region of Denmark and the largest island in the world that is not a continent. The country continues to rely on Denmark for foreign, defense and security policy, but has its own parliament, prime minister and cabinet.

What did Greenland and Denmark say?

When Trump first floated the idea of ​​the U.S. buying Greenland in August 2019, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said at the time: “Greenland is not for sale.”

Frederiksen called for respect for Greenland after Trump’s press conference.

“We need very, very close cooperation with the United States,” Frederiksen said, according to Danish television’s TV2. “On the other hand, I would like to encourage everyone to respect that Greenlanders are one people. They are a population. It is their country that is at stake here.”

Greenland Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede reacted sharply on Tuesday.

“Let me repeat: Greenland belongs to the people of Greenland. Our future and our fight for independence are our business,” he said on Facebook.

“While others, including Danes and Americans, are entitled to their opinions, we should not allow ourselves to be caught up in the hysteria and pressure from outside.”

“The future is ours and we can shape it,” he said, adding: “Every day we spend working to become independent.”

And in what some see as a rebuke to Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland, Denmark’s King Frederik X changed his country’s coat of arms to make Greenland’s symbol more prominent. Announcing the new design – the first since 1972 – the Danish royal family said the king wanted to create a “contemporary royal coat of arms that both reflects the empire and takes into account history and heraldic tradition”.

The new coat of arms, unveiled on January 1, gives separate sections to Greenland, represented by a polar bear, and the Faroe Islands, represented by a ram, which “strengthens the importance of the empire in the royal coat of arms.” Previously, the symbols of the Faroe Islands and Greenland, as well as three crowns, were all included in a single section.

In his New Year’s address, the king said: “We are all united.”

“From the Danish minority in southern Schleswig – which is even outside the kingdom – to Greenland. We belong together,” he said.

NPR’s Scott Neuman, Philip Ewing and Leila Fadel contributed to this report.