What's behind Trump's push to control Greenland?
The Take
Al Jazeera
4.7 • 747 Ratings
🗓️ 20 January 2026
⏱️ 26 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
US President Donald Trump is threatening to annex Greenland, framing it as protection against China and Russia, but the autonomous Danish territory holds strategic Arctic value as climate change opens new shipping routes and mineral access. Its 57,000 Inuit residents are rejecting his threats as insulting and colonial. How do Greenlanders see their future amid this geopolitical storm?
In this episode:
- Sara Olsvig, International Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council
Episode credits:
This episode was produced by Marcos Bartolome, Tamara Khandaker, and Melanie Marich, with Noor Wazwaz, Tuleen Barakat, and our guest host, Kevin Hirten. It was edited by Alexandra Locke.
Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio.
Connect with us:
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Al Jazeera Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | Today, Greenland's leaders are drawing a line in the Arctic. |
| 0:16.0 | Greenland has never been for sale and never will be for sale. |
| 0:20.0 | Ideas that would not respect |
| 0:22.0 | territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark |
| 0:25.3 | and the right of self-determination of the Greenlandic people |
| 0:29.3 | are, of course, totally unacceptable. |
| 0:33.8 | As Donald Trump revives talk of owning the island, |
| 0:40.3 | what does this moment feel like for the people who actually live there? I'm Kevin Horton, and this is the take. |
| 0:45.3 | Before we continue with today's show, remember to leave us a comment telling us what you think about this episode and what stories you'd like to see us do next. |
| 1:01.7 | Or if you're on your favorite podcast app, leave us a review telling us where you're listening from. |
| 1:06.5 | And you might as well give us a five-star rating while you're there. |
| 1:09.5 | It really does help the show. |
| 1:15.2 | My name is Sarah Olsvi. I'm the chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council. We are the representative |
| 1:21.7 | organization representing Inuit, the indigenous people that we here in Galachidna and Greenland are also a part of, |
| 1:29.0 | and we live here in Greenland, in Canada, Alaska and Chukotka, Russia. |
| 1:33.6 | And so I'm the international chair at the moment of this organization. |
| 1:38.5 | I'm calling in from Nook, the capital of Greenland, where I live. |
| 1:43.6 | And Inuit is, I just learned this, Inuit is plural. |
| 1:46.0 | So the singular is Inuk. |
| 1:48.0 | Inuk, yes. |
| 1:50.0 | Yeah, Inok. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Al Jazeera, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Al Jazeera and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.