NUUK, Greenland – Thursday’s inauguration of a new US consulate in Greenland’s capital sparked massive protests, turning what Washington hoped would be the highlight of a week-long seduction campaign into a public relations setback.
Around 1,000 people gathered outside the new 3,000 square meter complex in Nuuk, waving Greenlandic flags and chanting “Kalaallit Nunaat, kalaallit pigaat!” (“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders”) and “USA, go home.” Protesters quickly dubbed the building “Trump Tower” and, at one point, turned their backs on U.S. officials before dispersing.
“Listen to us. We are not for sale, and we are not a military object,” organizer and activist Aqqalukkuluk Fontain told the crowd. “We will not accept threats from the United States regarding our self-determination. HAS”
These demonstrations highlighted the outcry against Washington’s increasingly assertive Arctic diplomacy under the presidency of Donald Trump, whose administration has again focused on Greenland as a strategic and geopolitical issue.
Inside the consulate, U.S. diplomats welcomed a select group of local guests with drinks and a concert by a band made up largely of Hawaiian musicians. Several prominent Greenlandic personalities, including Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, declined the invitation.
One consulate, two Americas
The inauguration was to mark the culmination of a weeklong visit by Trump envoy Jeff Landry, who sought to assuage local skepticism with an unusual outreach campaign that included handing out cookies to children and MAGA hats to residents. Landry left Greenland the day before the inauguration.
In an editorial published before the inauguration, US Ambassador to Denmark Kenneth Howery described the consulate as a “permanent, purpose-built diplomatic facility” that demonstrated Washington’s long-term commitment to Greenland.
Such facilities “constitute an investment in our presence, in our seriousness and in our intention to remain,” he wrote.
Howery also highlighted Greenland’s foreign policy, security and defense strategy, which calls for closer cooperation with the United States. Greenland’s foreign policy, however, remains officially linked to the Kingdom of Denmark.
This diplomatic message contrasted sharply with that of Rufus Gifford, former US ambassador to Copenhagen under Barack Obama and deputy campaign manager for Joe Biden, who was also in Nuuk this week to attend the Future of Greenland conference.
Gifford, who described himself as representing “the true majority of America,” said many Americans were alarmed by Trump’s rhetoric regarding Greenland and, more broadly, allies of the United States.
“Trump’s foreign policy has eroded trust among our closest allies around the world with a constant barrage of intimidation tactics,” Gifford said. Euractiv.
When asked why Trump remained obsessed with Greenland, Gifford responded: “You’re asking me to read Trump’s mind. It’s impossible. I know of no other answer than a twisted desire to strengthen American domination in the Western Hemisphere. HAS”
Pressure on the local population
The renewed interest of the United States has begun to disrupt daily life in Nuuk, a town of around 20,000 inhabitants where political tensions increasingly invade the private sphere.
“The highly polarized American debate has spilled over into our society,†said Ujammiugaq Engell, director of the Nuuk local museum. “You have to think twice before talking about current issues, otherwise a kaffemik can turn into a family argument,” she added, in reference to the traditional Greenlandic festival where all members of the community are invited.
She described several unpleasant encounters with American visitors, including with an elderly tourist who told her to “prepare for an American takeover, because Trump always gets what he wants.”
In recent months, Nuuk has also attracted fringe activists and political opportunists. An octogenarian American still present in Nuuk, Clifford Stanley, came to prominence for trying to collect signatures in favor of closer integration with the United States, apparently offering residents around $200,000 (173,000 euros) in exchange for their signature.
The EU keeps its distance
While the Americans tested their popularity on the Arctic island, the European representatives kept their distance. Commissioner Jozef Sákela, who was in Nuuk until late Thursday afternoon, left without attending the opening ceremony. EU officials based in Nuuk remained at the recently opened European Commission office.
Danish representation was also very limited, with no senior government officials present, ostensibly due to coalition negotiations in Copenhagen.
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