Greenlanders have expressed fear and anger as Trump looks at the territory

“The people of Greenland don’t want to be American,” said the BBC’s Mia Chemnitz. “We’re not for sale.”

The 32-year-old business owner in Greenland’s capital Nuuk echoed the sentiments of many who spoke to the BBC about how they felt about the new rhetoric from the Trump administration.

The White House said it was “actively” discussing an offer to buy the territory that for centuries belonged to Denmark. US President Donald Trump and his officials have previously announced a willingness to take it by force if necessary.

This was met with consternation and opprobrium by Greenlanders – on the world’s largest island and elsewhere.

This tension has only grown since the US took Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from his residence in Caracas to New York on charges of drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism in an unprecedented military move.

Almost immediately afterward, the wife of a senior White House staffer indicated that Greenland was next.

“That’s when it stopped feeling abstract,” said Tupaarnaq Kopeck, 40, who moved to Canada — another place Trump has threatened to annex — for family and work.

“For the first time, I contacted my sister in Greenland and told her that if the unthinkable happens, they will have a place to live with us.”

Aaja Chemnitz, one of two MPs in the Danish parliament representing Greenland, said the comments from the Trump administration were “a clear threat” that “shocked” him.

“It is absolutely disrespectful from the US side not to reject the annexation of our country and the annexation of another NATO ally,” he said.

Greenland is the least populated territory in the world. With most of the Arctic island covered in ice, most of the population lives in Nuuk and around the southwest coast.

But it is strategically important to the US – so much so that it has had a military presence there since World War II.

Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it well-placed for early warning systems in case of missile attacks.

Recently, there has also been growing interest in Greenland’s natural resources, including rare earth minerals, which are becoming easier to obtain as its ice melts due to climate change.

“It’s not fun to be 56,000 people and have these threats – if you can call them – from a giant like the US,” said Masaana Egede, Editor in Chief from the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq.

“The citizens of Greenland are nervous about it, because it’s not something we don’t think about.”

Experts generally agree that a military takeover of Greenland would be an easy task for the US – but that the geopolitical fallout would effectively end the NATO alliance.

After the issue of ownership of Greenland was raised again by the White House, six European allies issued a statement says the future of Greenland should be decided by its people – something Mia says she appreciates.

But he worries that it will not matter to the US “if it is not backed up by results and action”.

“As a Greenlander, I can’t help but think: what is the value of these allies?

Tupaarnaq says: “Respect is more than paper alliances. If powerful countries talk about you instead of you, that respect is lost very quickly.”

The Trump administration has stressed its intention is to buy Greenland from Denmark – despite Copenhagen repeating that the territory will not be sold – while maintaining a military intervention as an option.

Aaja sees that annexation cannot be done by force – instead, “what we see is that they will put pressure on us to make sure they get Greenland over time”.

Polling consistently shows that Greenlanders generally favor eventual independence from Denmark but oppose US ownership. The territory is largely self-governing, with control of foreign affairs and defense held by Copenhagen.

This is perhaps why Aleqatsiaq Peary, a 42-year-old Inuit hunter who lives in the remote northern town of Qaanaaq, seems undaunted by the prospect of US ownership.

“It can be transferred from one master to another, from one occupier to another,” he said. “We are a colony under Denmark. We have lost a lot from being under the Danish government.”

But he says: “I have no time for Trump. Our people are in need,” explained hunters like him who hunt with dogs on the sea ice and fish, “but the sea ice is melting and the hunters can no longer make a living”.

For Sermitsiaq editor Masaana, the rhetoric from the US is pushing a false binary choice.

“We really have to try to avoid the story going to a place where Greenland has to decide between the US and Denmark, because that’s not the option the Greenlanders want.”

For others, seeing Greenland’s already strong ties with the US eroded, there was a palpable sense of anger.

“The people of Greenland are very angry about this,” said Christian Keldsen of the Greenland Business Association.

“Greenland people are welcoming and open-hearted, this is the best thing about the country. But now with this, some people are afraid.”

Greenland is open for US business, Christian stressed, noting that there are new direct flights from Greenland to New York – a sure sign that “they don’t need to take us”.

“We are a well-functioning democracy and our government has a strong mandate,” Mia said. “We are a NATO ally and the US has had military bases in Greenland for over 70 years and still has the right to build and operate new ones and more.

“As it was said from Greenland before: we are not for sale, but we are open for business.”