The mayor of Greenland's capital has confessed she lives in dread of American warships appearing on the horizon, as former US President Donald Trump's threats to seize the island intensify.
"They Talk About Us Without Us": A Mayor's Plea
Avaaraq Olsen, mayor of Nuuk, said anxiety is mounting daily among the city's 20,000 inhabitants. She has issued a direct plea to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is working to coordinate a NATO response to the crisis, including deploying troops to dissuade Trump from intervention.
"Denmark or others make plans and announcements about Greenland - but they talk about us without us," Olsen stated. "So if Keir Starmer wants to plan anything like that, or even talk about it, he should definitely include the inhabitants of Greenland."
A Landscape of Fear and "Fake News"
Speaking from her office in Nuuk's Civic Hall, Olsen described a recent unsettling moment. "I was taking a walk by the coast. A boat came, it was dark and had no lights on. Suddenly I was wondering, will they come without the light?" she revealed, acknowledging the pervasive fear despite her calls for calm.
Olsen, normally reserved with media, said the severity of the threat forced her to speak out. She blamed distress among residents on "fake news" spread by Trump and his team, led by his son, Donald Trump Jnr, who visited Nuuk in January 2025.
"To Donald Trump I would say I don't want him here. That would just show another way of disrespecting us," she said. Olsen specifically denounced Trump's claims of Russian and Chinese ships surrounding Greenland as damaging lies that "have to stop."
The "Circus" Visit and a Hopeful Summit
Olsen labelled Trump Jnr's visit a "circus" or a "s***-show." She alleged his team offered free lunches to unemployed men near the city mall, gave them MAGA hats, and then used the resulting photos to suggest a warm welcome. She also claimed influencers handed $100 bills to schoolchildren, an act that angered locals.
This public backlash, she said, led US Vice President JD Vance to cancel a Nuuk visit, opting instead for the controlled environment of the US Pituffik military base.
Olsen compared the current existential dread to the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. "It felt surreal, like we were in a movie. That's exactly how we feel right now," she said, noting that Greenlanders often use humour as a coping mechanism in hard times.
A glimmer of hope rests on a summit scheduled for next week between Greenlandic, Danish, and American leaders. "Whatever comes of that can give us an idea of how this is going to develop," Olsen stated.
The crisis has prompted Keir Starmer to broker talks with NATO allies about strengthening the West's military presence in the Arctic. Downing Street confirmed the PM takes growing Russian aggression in the region "extremely seriously," while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc is accelerating work in Greenland to boost "Arctic security."
