US President-elect Donald Trump has shared a video purportedly showing residents of Greenland welcoming his plan to purchase the world’s largest island from Denmark. Local media has cast doubt on the authenticity of the demonstration.
The two-minute clip published by Trump on his Truth Social account on Thursday shows a crowd of people wearing the iconic red ‘MAGA’ caps expressing a wish for Greenland to become part of the US.
On Monday, the president-elect claimed that “the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA,’” as he shared another video which was published by a cap-wearing supporter of his bid to purchase the island.
Danish state broadcaster DR News has since reported that the ‘MAGA’ group filmed by Trump’s son were not authentic Trump supporters but are in fact homeless and socially vulnerable people. They were allegedly offered a free meal in exchange for taking part in the publicity stunt, the outlet reported on Thursday, citing sources in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland.
The original ‘MAGA’ man, who the president-elect showcased on social media on Monday, has been identified by local media as a convicted marijuana trafficker. Timmy Zeeb, the reports said, was sentenced to four years in jail for his role in one of largest cannabis busts in the island’s history.
The Danish government has rejected Trump’s suggestion to buy Greenland. Denmark’s King Frederik, the ceremonial sovereign of the European democratic monarchy, has even changed the national coat of arms to highlight Copenhagen’s claim to the island.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev argued on Thursday that the flurry of territorial claims made by Trump involving other nations, as well as the provocative gestures by his close associates, are a smokescreen. It sets an “agenda of cosmic scale and… cosmic stupidity,” he said, paraphrasing a famous Russian literary quote. The practical consequence of the claims is to keep outgoing President Joe Biden in the shadows, Medvedev believes.
Trump’s rationale for seeking to acquire Greenland is that the island is in a strategic military location that would provide access to the rich natural resources of the Arctic.