Map of Greenland Under US Flag Sparks Backlash After Trump Deal - Newsweek
A champion of Greenland’s sovereignty has reacted with anger to an image of the country overlaid with the U.S. flag after President Donald Trump announced a deal with Denmark to boost the military presence on the Arctic island.
Trump announced a deal on Friday for the U.S. to get “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland, completely addressing ALL of our many U.S. concerns.”
Orla Joelson, who has condemned Trump’s prior suggestions that the U.S. could seize the island, which is part of the kingdom of Denmark, took aim at suggestions by MAGA users that the U.S. now acquired Greenland.
Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, posted an image of the stars and stripes superimposed over the island, to which Joelson replied, “this is shameless propaganda."
“The United States is NOT getting ownership of Greenland. Stop plastering the U.S. flag on our land as if Greenland has somehow become American territory. It hasn’t.!!”
Miller had posted a similar image in January which included the map with the word "SOON.” The message prompted the Danish ambassador to the U.S. Jesper Møller Sørensen, to urge Washington to "respect" Denmark's territory.
In a follow up post, Joelson wrote on X on Friday: “Some MAGA supporters are so stupid that they actually believe the United States is going to own Greenland,” adding that it expands military access and veto rights, but involved no transfer of sovereignty.
Newsweek has contacted Joelson, the Danish foreign ministry and the U.S. State Department for comment.
Trump has touted the deal as giving the U.S. permanent control over security, in Greenland, but Denmark and Greenland say it preserves their sovereignty and right to self-determination.
Trump said that the U.S. would “immediately begin the process of developing a large military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland.”
However, the U.S. already has a presence on the island, and the right to expand bases, albeit through NATO of which Denmark is a founding member.
Observers noted that the deal appeared to be an extension from their previous agreement from 1951 which allowed the U.S. to build military bases in Greenland. The text has not been released so it is unclear how much the deal will be new.
Citing a U.S. State Department official, the Associated Press reported that the agreement would guarantee that China and Russia cannot have a base in Greenland and limits adversaries’ investments in the island.
Trump had made false claims of Chinese and Russian military forces were off the island’s coastline.
“This is more or less the same deal that has been in place in Greenland for eight decades,” author and journalist Anne Applebaum wrote on X, “any new nuances could have been added without the threats, drama, clumsy covert campaigns and overt attempts to buy influence.”
Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, said the deal will be signed by the three governments at next week’s United Nations General Assembly, but parliamentary action is still needed by the Danish and Greenland governments.
Meanwhile, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the deal benefits all three governments and “recognizes Greenland’s interests.”
Trump alarmed NATO and was condemned internationally when he floated the idea of seizing Greenland and not ruling out military force but the issue had been overtaken by his military operation to oust former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Iran War.
