Daniel Wolfram
A late-night Truth Social post falsely declared Greenland as American territory while Trump promised immediate Arctic oil exploration.
President Donald Trump is known for spending most of his late nights on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
Last night was no different after he was done speaking at a midterm rally in Alaska.
Around midnight, a lengthy post was written about Greenland, which he apparently thinks he now owns.
‘Our’ Greenland
“Massive Oil, Gas, and Mineral Exploration is getting ready to begin in our new and beautiful Greenland!” Trump started his Truth Social post by falsely claiming that Greenland belongs to the United States of America.
About a month ago, Trump, along with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, did come to a new agreement that is designed to strengthen the Arctic and give the US the possibility of opening new bases in Greenland.
But Trump is wrong in saying that Greenland now belongs to the Americans. Greenland remains under Danish sovereignty while being a self-governing territory. That is explicitly stated in the agreement.
Oil in Greenland
The main point of Trump’s post is that he wants to highlight that because of the new deal, he thinks he owns Greenland, and therefore he can start drilling for oil.
Under the old and new agreements with Denmark and Greenland, the US has always had the ability to drill for oil and minerals. Oil drilling has already been tried by many major companies like Shell, Eni, Equinor, and ExxonMobil.
The problem is that it is hard to really find oil because of all the ice. According to Forbes, since 80% of Greenland is covered by ice, you need special equipment that only exists in Russia.
There is also the problem of offshore drilling where you can only drill for oil in the summer months. Ultimately, that has not proved economically viable for oil companies.
New defense in Greenland
Trump’s announcement of oil drilling in Greenland and his claim of ownership were not the only news in the Truth Social post.
He also announced that Greenland, effective immediately, will be a big part of the defense system in America.
“Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived. It gives us time, location, and sightline, like nowhere else in the World!” concludes Trump.
