Donald Trump Jr. was promised a large crowd of Greenlanders when he landed at the Nuuk airport Tuesday. Instead, he got, at best, a handful of fans for his unofficial visit.
While aboard “Trump Force One” to visit Greenland, Sergio Gor, a Trump ally and the incoming director of the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, told Trump Jr. a significant number of people would show up.
“The whole town is showing up, I think, at the airport,” Gor said in a teaser clip of Art of the Surge, an Apple TV docuseries on Donald Trump’s resurgence and presidential victory.
Donald Trump Jr. waves to a small crowd of Greenlanders who showed up to the Nuuk airport to greet him. He was promised that many in the town of 20,000 would show up (AP)
Hours later, upon arriving in Greenland, it appeared just a few locals showed up to greet Trump Jr. and his team.
A clip of the group arriving showed a small gathering of people outside of the Nuuk airport, waving to Trump Jr. One video, taken from a nearby road, showed a few locals getting out of their vehicles to take photos of “Trump Force One” landing.
A video taken inside the airport showed 20 or so Greenlanders waiting at the terminal for the U.S. president’s eldest son. By the time Trump Jr. and his team departed from the terminal, it appeared more locals had joined the welcome crowd, but it had remained relatively reserved.
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, is a city of less than 20,000, according to the United Nations.
Trump Jr.’s visit occurred weeks after Trump re-ignited the calls for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. On Tuesday, the president-elect said he would not rule out using the U.S. military to take the country.
Greenland Premier Mute Egede and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen have repeatedly said the island is “not for sale.”
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede said in December.
Trump Jr.’s short trip was considered a personal visit, not official business. Greenland representatives said they would not meet with him. The president-elect’s son said the purpose of the trip was to “talk to people and see what they think about America.”
Local news outlets noted there were “several” supporters who showed up wearing MAGA merchandise but most were “curious citizens” who wanted to witness the fascinating moment.
A source familiar with the trip told The Hill that Trump Jr.’s visit was “to shoot some fun video content for podcasting.”
