Why Trump's push for frigid Greenland is about icing out US adversaries

The island is also a transfer point for communication cables that cross the Atlantic. European officials claim Russian "ghost ships" have been destroying such cables by dropping their anchors and dragging them across the ocean floor.

The island rests on top of lucrative supplies of critical and rare earth minerals, such as cobalt, nickel, uranium and iron - materials that are essential to electric vehicles, medical equipment, electronics, batteries and advanced defense systems. 

The U.S. was once a top producer of rare earth minerals, but has been knocked off by China. China currently dominates the global supply chain with access to 60% of the world's supply, but Greenland could be a "game changer," according to national security attorney Irina Tsukerman.

"Their total resources of these rare earths could be greater than what China has," she told Fox News Digital.

"Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland," the vice president remarked on the trip. 

"You underinvested in the people of Greenland, and you've underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, all-beautiful landmass filled with incredible people. That has to change and because it hasn't changed, this is why President Trump's policy in Greenland is what it is."

The nation's economy is currently built on fishing and welfare: Denmark offers around $700 million each year, nearly half of Greenland's budget. 

The U.S. has dangled "billions" in investment to mine minerals in Greenland as part of an effort to reduce its reliance on China, though China has already had a limited involvement in mining projects there. 

"China is more concerned about access to the Arctic than those minerals," said Tsukerman. 

There's oil and gas, too, but in 2021 Greenland passed a ban on all future oil and gas exploration and extraction. 

As the ice caps continue to melt, the waters around Greenland are becoming more and more navigable - meaning ships traveling from Asia and Europe can sail polar routes and avoid heading south to the Panama and Suez canals. 

U.S. and Danish defenses on the island have become outdated, just as Russia is refurbishing its own Arctic ports. Greenland once hosted dozens of U.S. bases and outposts, but today hosts just one: Pituffik Space Force Base. Once home to around 10,000 U.S. troops, just around 200 are deployed there now. 

"We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it," Trump said in an interview on Wednesday.

The territory largely opposes the idea of joining the U.S. 

In response to Trump's threats to take Greenland, Denmark announced a $2 billion investment in defense on the island in January. 

Denmark's defense intelligence service has determined Greenland to be "a priority for Russia, and it will demonstrate its power through aggressive and threatening behavior, which will carry along with it a greater risk of escalation than ever before in the Arctic."

"We have not invested enough in the Arctic for many years," Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen admitted recently. "Now we are planning a stronger presence."