Nuuk Mayor Issues Desperate Warning Over Donald Trump's Plan to Send Warships to Greenland

Avaaraq Olsen, the mayor of Greenland's capital, has revealed the mounting anxiety gripping Nuuk as fears intensify over the possibility of American naval vessels appearing on the Arctic horizon. The civic leader has issued a stark personal plea to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, insisting that any NATO military plans for the region cannot proceed without first consulting the people of Greenland themselves.

'I am dreading the day that American warships appear,' Olsen confessed during a recent interview in her office at Nuuk's Civic Hall. The anxiety she describes is spreading rapidly amongst Nuuk's 20,000 residents, with concerns mounting each passing day about what Washington might do next.

Starmer is currently working to coordinate a NATO response to the escalating Greenland crisis, exploring the possibility of deploying troops to establish a major security presence that might dissuade US President Donald Trump from pursuing his territorial ambitions. However, Olsen has made it abundantly clear that any such military manoeuvre must include dialogue with Greenland's own people. 'Denmark or others make plans and announcements about Greenland — but they talk about us without us,' she stated bluntly. 'So if Keir Starmer wants to plan anything like that, or even talk about it, he should definitely include the inhabitants of Greenland'.

Trump's Greenland Threat and Its Psychological Toll

Speaking from her window overlooking Nuuk's fjord, Olsen painted a visceral picture of the psychological impact Trump's rhetoric has had on ordinary Greenlanders. 'Yesterday I needed to take a walk on the path we have on our coastline,' she explained.

'There's always this calming feeling when you listen to the ocean. I was standing there and it was getting dark, and then a boat came. It had no lights on. And suddenly I was wondering: will they come without the light?' she added.

The mayor acknowledged the profound contradictions she faces in her role. Despite her repeated efforts to reassure the population, she finds herself wrestling with the same fears gripping her constituents. 'Even though I've been the one telling everyone to keep calm, I also understand that people are afraid. I really understand why people are looking towards the sky and the ocean for what might come,' Olsen admitted.

Her frank warnings mark a significant departure from her typically measured approach to media engagement. The severity of what she perceives as an existential threat to Greenland's future has compelled her to abandon her usual restraint. She has been particularly vocal about the disinformation she believes Trump and his inner circle — including his son Donald Trump Jr. and senior adviser Charlie Kirk — have been deliberately spreading about Greenland's geopolitical situation.

'To Donald Trump I would say I don't want him here,' Olsen said with palpable frustration. 'That would just show another way of disrespecting us if he came.' She continued with pointed criticism of Trump's inflammatory claims: 'I really do think that they have to stop lying about Greenland.

Like when he said that we have Russian and Chinese ships surrounding Greenland. That kind of state statement is also hurting people in Greenland. Really, the lying has to stop'.

The falsehoods have proven particularly distressing for Greenland's elderly population, many of whom have been traumatised by visions of hostile naval incursions. Having lived through different eras of geopolitical tension, these residents have been conditioned to believe that statements from powerful world leaders must be truthful. 'When a powerful head of state makes a statement, older people assume it would be true,' Olsen explained. 'But that assumption is being weaponised by false claims about Russian and Chinese naval presence'.

A Circus of Deception

The situation deteriorated further when Trump Jr. and Kirk visited Nuuk in January 2025, an encounter Olsen describes as deeply troubling in its manipulative nature. 'That was a circus — or perhaps a sh*t-show,' she said candidly. According to the mayor, the Trump delegation engaged in what she characterised as cynical political theatre designed to manufacture grassroots support where none genuinely existed.

Olsen detailed how the Trump team rounded up unemployed men who typically congregated near the city's shopping centre, offering them free meals at an upmarket restaurant and providing MAGA hats in exchange for participation in choreographed photo opportunities. 'They took photos to suggest that the Trump team, who arrived in Greenland on the "Trump Force 1" jet, were given a great welcome by Greenlanders,' Olsen explained. 'That was simply not authentic'.

The visit became even more troubling when, according to the mayor, schoolchildren were given $100 notes, apparently as part of a broader effort to win over Greenland's younger generation. The Trump delegation's operatives visited schools unannounced, knocked on classroom doors and attempted to interview pupils, actions that sparked considerable local outrage. 'We had these influencers coming, and they handed out $100 bills for children,' Olsen said with evident anger. 'And they even went to schools, knocked on the door to the classrooms and wanted to interview children and young people. It was so ugly what happened'.

The public backlash against these tactics proved sufficiently severe that US Vice President JD Vance subsequently cancelled plans to visit Nuuk itself. Instead, he opted to hold his engagement at Pituffik, the US military base on Greenlandic soil, where messaging could be more tightly controlled and dissenting voices more easily excluded. 'For Greenlanders, we are very not so outgoing about our opinions, and it takes a lot for us to demonstrate,' Olsen observed. 'That Vance changed his plans shows just how significant the public rejection was'.

A Nation Holding Its Breath

The intensity and unprecedented nature of international attention has fundamentally unsettled Greenland's population in ways that bear comparison to the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic. 'I remember when Corona first hit, it felt surreal, like we were in a movie,' Olsen reflected. 'That's exactly how we feel right now. It's really hard to predict what's next'.

Yet amid this turbulence, Olsen has observed signs of remarkable resilience in Greenlandic culture. 'People have these feelings of fear, yet I also see people really just trying to live our daily life,' she said. 'When we have the hardest time in Greenland, we laugh. So I think there is a lot of laughing going on, even though it's scary'.

The core desire animating Greenlandic public opinion remains unwavering. 'Greenlanders don't want to be American or Danish,' Olsen stressed. 'They want to be free'. Families across the nation are longing for the day when international media glare diminishes and daily life can return to its quieter rhythms.

Olsen expressed cautious hope that diplomatic efforts may yet prove fruitful. A summit involving Greenlandic, Danish and American political leaders scheduled for the following week offered what she characterised as 'an unlikely glimmer of hope'. 'Whatever comes of that can give us an idea of how this is going to develop from here, because right now it's so hard to imagine,' she said. 'Everything changes from day to day'.

On the international stage, Starmer's efforts to rally NATO allies have accelerated. Downing Street confirmed that the prime minister is taking 'extremely seriously' the threat posed by growing Russian aggression in the Arctic region, with negotiations ongoing regarding a bolstered Western military presence. Meanwhile, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, announced that the EU was 'accelerating our work' in Greenland as part of broader efforts to strengthen Arctic security infrastructure.