Trump Finally Got His Greenland Deal

Trump finally got his deal over Greenland. Critics say nothing has really changed. So who's right? In this episode, we look at the fine print, and find out who's really come out on top. Welcome to America Uncovered, I'm Chris Chappell. So, Greenland. That gigantic hunk of ice and rock floating in the North Atlantic. A place where, during wintertime, the sun doesn't rise for months over large parts of the island. A cold, barren landscape. One of the harshest places on Earth to survive. It's so harsh, one might even call it apocalyptic. Whether you're planning a trip to Greenland or preparing for the apocalypse, you'll want to check out this book. The Four Illustrated Survival Guide to Four Apocalypses. Imagine four different ways humanity screws up beautifully illustrated. It gives me hundreds of practical tips on how to do things like tie a bunch of different types of knots. Or how to make my own crossbow in the pandemic section. You will stay six feet away from me! And in the likely event of a zombie apocalypse, the proper barehanded takedown technique of a zombie. Also effective against communists. Look, whether you're buying this for a loved one, or for yourself so you can dominate the planet after the end of civilization, buy this book. It's so good, you'll practically be hoping for the world to end. So click the link below or scan the QR code to buy this book. Make sure to apply my promo code UNCOVERED4BOOK for a special discount. Remember, after the apocalypse, your money won't be worth squat, so you might as well spend it now on something useful. So finally, after threats, protests, and some very awkward conversations, it's now official. President Trump, along with the Prime Ministers of Denmark and Greenland, have signed a new security agreement on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Trump, naturally, is calling it a historic win. When he announced the deal last Friday, he said it gives the United States permanent control over security and all other needs in Greenland. All other needs? What do Greenlanders need, red light therapy? In any case, Trump's critics aren't exactly impressed with the deal. Their argument goes like this. Trump spent months threatening to take Greenland, rattled NATO, and all he walked away with was basically the same deal America has had since 1951. As one professor of international relations at the University of Copenhagen told Time Magazine, the 1951 agreement already gave the United States relatively unfettered military access to Greenland. Over at the Atlantic Council, a former State Department official called Trump's deal a set of welcome assurances, but hardly breakthroughs. Now, to be fair to the critics, they have a point. Sort of. The US has had a military foothold in Greenland since World War II. Under the 1951 Defense of Greenland Agreement, America operated bases across the island. At the height of the Cold War, we had 17 military installations there, and more than 10,000 personnel. Today, there's only one. Bidoofik Space Base, formerly known as Thule. Which I have to say is the biggest named downgrade ever. Donald Trump wasn't elected to raise Bidoofik. He was elected to raise Thule. You know, I believe in Thule, the ancient city, and raising Thule. And I think that Trump is the candidate who's going to raise Thule. I've literally been waiting a decade to use that clip. So anyway, if you only compare the military access rights, yeah, a lot of this already was on the books. But is it just the same deal as before? Well, not quite. Thankfully, we actually have the text of the agreement, so we can compare and contrast. There are a few really, really important points in here that were never part of the old deal. First of all, this deal is permanent. Article 11 says this agreement does not have an end date, and may only be amended by mutual consent. Mutual consent means the US has to agree to any change. Second, and this really is important, it stays in place whether or not Greenland ever becomes independent. Technically, Greenland has the legal right to break away from Denmark. And plenty of Greenlanders want to. But this new agreement says that if Greenlandic independence ever happens, Denmark and Greenland must ensure that the new country stays in NATO and assumes all of the same rights and obligations that Denmark signed up to. So Greenland can have its independence if it wants, but those American bases aren't going anywhere. Which brings us to the third point, the new bases. According to Reuters, the US plans to open two military bases. The first is reopening a Cold War base in southern Greenland. And the other is setting up another base on the east coast. The treaty names both sites. The first is Narsu Soak, home of the old Bluey West 1 air base, which the US abandoned in the 1950s. Second is Mestervig, an outpost currently used by Denmark's Serious Dogsled Patrol, an elite naval reconnaissance unit. Yes, these Arctic Special Forces travel by dog. Here's their logo. Ok, that's awesome. But American forces won't just be hitching a ride on the dogsleds, as cool as that may be. Under Article 6, United States aircraft may fly over and land in any territory in Greenland, including the territorial waters. And United States public vessels may have undersea access to and movement within the territorial waters, without restriction, except as mutually agreed upon by the parties. Yep, we're talking planes and submarines, which I'll return to in a minute. But there's one more big point to this agreement— something Washington cared about most. Keeping China and Russia out. Article 9 bans any non-NATO country from building military installations or having military forces in Greenland. But Article 10 also bars investors from outside NATO, NATO partner countries, or the EU, from controlling or significantly influencing particularly sensitive sectors, which explicitly includes critical infrastructure and resource extraction. So things like mining. The only exception is when the parties agree that those activities wouldn't constitute a threat to national security or public order. The US is one of those parties. So if Denmark or Greenland ever wanted to make an exception for, say, a Chinese mining company, Washington would have to sign off on it. Which they're obviously not going to. There's even an anti-espionage clause in Article 7. It lets the US raise concerns about any construction near its bases. So if a suspiciously large Chinese fishing company wants to build a warehouse next door to Bidufik, the US gets a say. Now to be fair, the deal isn't fully enforced yet. It still needs approval from the Danish and Greenlandic parliaments. The details of the two new bases still have to be worked out, and any additional bases would require Denmark and Greenland's consent. That said, Denmark sounds like it's fully on board. Here's their Prime Minister. This deal is good for the United States. It's good for Greenland, for Denmark, for the NATO alliance, and therefore also good for Europe. Mr. President, you have been very clear. You don't want adversaries to come too close. I fully agree. And with this deal, they are not. So Denmark keeps its sovereignty over Greenland. But at the same time, the US gets permanent access, a lock on its rivals, and a seat at the table for everything else. Which raises the question, why does any of this matter? Well, let's start with China. In 2018, Beijing declared itself a near-Arctic state. China's closest point to the Arctic Circle, mind you, is roughly 900 miles away. So by that logic, you could say I'm from Alabama. Back to these goobers. Moscow and Beijing want control of the Arctic for three reasons. Shipping, minerals, and military access. And Greenland sits on top of all three. Take shipping. As Arctic ice retreats, new sea routes are opening. There's the Northwest Passage through Canada, Russia's Northern Sea Route, and perhaps eventually a route straight over the North Pole. And whichever one you want to reach to take the Atlantic, you end up sailing past Greenland. Then there are submarines. If Russia's Northern Fleet wants to threaten the US east coast, its subs have to leave their bases on the Kola Peninsula and slip through the waters between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK. NATO calls this the G.I.U.K. Gap. Anyone who's seen The Hunt for Red October knows how this works. During the Cold War, tracking Soviet subs through the G.I.U.K. Gap was one of NATO's most important jobs. After the Soviet Union collapsed, we stopped keeping such a close eye on it. This deal changes that. Now look at the new bases. Russia's SOAK sits at the southern tip of Greenland, right at the edge of the gap. Mesozoic faces the Greenland Sea, one of the routes enemy subs might take. Add that undersea access clause, and you're rebuilding the barrier. And then there's missile defense. The treaty's preamble explicitly names the Golden Dome, Trump's planned missile defense shield, as a reason for US military access to Greenland. We do think already watches for ballistic missiles coming over the North Pole. Now that role is locked in permanently. That's especially important when your northern neighbor is, let's say, going through a phase. So why did it take a year of threats to get here? Well, Trump's been at this for a while, actually. Back in his first term, he floated the idea of buying Greenland outright. Denmark's prime minister called the idea absurd, and Trump canceled a state visit to Denmark over it. Then came his second term, and the pressure ramped up. He talked about annexation, tariffs, and refused to rule out force against a NATO ally. But if you've read The Art of the Deal, none of this should really surprise you. Trump is pretty open about how he negotiates. And it goes something like this. Step 1. Aim high. Say you want the whole island. Step 2. Escalate. Refuse to rule anything out, even military force against an ally. Step 3. Let the pressure build, while negotiators work quietly behind the scenes. Step 4. Settle on what actually matters— bases, access, and keeping your rivals out. This lets your negotiating partners save face. And of course, Step 5. Declare victory and gloat about what a great deal you just made. Did Trump ever seriously want to annex Greenland? Who knows? Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. Denmark got to keep the title. But strategically, the US got everything it needs. But what do you think? Leave your comment below. And remember to get this beautifully illustrated Apocalypse Survival Guide. It could save your life. Or just look really good on your coffee table. While you still have one, click my link below to order your copy. Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. Thanks for watching America Uncovered.