Trump considers paying Greenlanders up to $100,000 each to join the US

Donald Trump is considering paying Greenlanders up to $100,000 each to join the United States.

The 79-year-old Republican has been 'very serious' about taking the self-governing Danish territory for a while now, citing both Greenland's strategic location for defence purposes and mineral wealth as reasons behind wanting it.

Trump has also claimed that he was 'actively discussing' buying the territory and said he wouldn't rule out using force to take over the area, despite Greenland belonging to Denmark, which makes it part of the NATO security area.

This means, in short, that if Trump tried to take the territory, then it would be acting against a fellow NATO member. That alone would put the alliance into uncharted territory, given that it has never faced a situation where its strongest member is the aggressor. Any attempt to seize Greenland would legally count as an attack on Denmark itself.

Donald Trump is considering paying Greenlanders up to $100,000 each to join the US, according to a report (Joe Raedle / Staff / Getty Images)

In the latest update, it's been revealed that Trump's administration is considering sending lump sum payments to Greenlanders.

Reuters reports that American officials have discussed sending the payments, ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per person, in an attempt to convince them to join the US.

A source told the outlet the idea of lump sum payments isn’t new, but that discussions about these payments have become more serious in light of recent events.

A source also told Reuters that the Trump administration is keen to keep up the momentum following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend (3 January) which, according to several legal experts, likely breached both US and international law.

Greenland is a self-governing Danish territory (Getty Stock images)

The outlet adds that such a proposition can offer an explanation of how Trump might attempt to 'buy' the island of 57,000 people, despite authorities' insistence that Greenland is not for sale.

The Independent reports that polls show the majority of Greenlanders oppose a US takeover of the territory.

"We are not for sale, and we will not be annexed," Jess Berthelsen, chair of SIK, Greenland’s national trade union confederation, told the Guardian. "We will determine our own future, and we will continue to work with Denmark and the United States. We have always considered the United States as our ally. That has always been so for many years.

"It’s not very comfortable to receive threats from a lifelong friend, a lifelong ally. Cooperation cannot take place if we are receiving threats like these constantly. How can we cooperate when we are receiving constant threats of military intervention? Nobody does that to their friends, or people they cooperate with."