'Hello, Greenland!' Trump trolls foreign territory amid negotiations

Greenland is back on President Donald Trump's radar as his administration deepens America's diplomatic footprint in the world's largest island.

Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself on May 22 peering over a mountainous community with a caption in the photo reading: "Hello, Greenland!"

This comes as the U.S. opened a new consulate and sent a special envoy to the Arctic territory, which is owned by Denmark.

Since returning to power, Trump has been promising he will "get" Greenland even while natives and other European allies insist it isn't for sale. For the past four months, negotiators from the U.S., Greenland and Denmark have been discussing the island's future in an attempt to diffuse the situation, according to the New York Times.

"We probably won't get anything unless I decide to use excessive strength and force, where we would be frankly unstoppable, but I won't do that," Trump said in January during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trump's supporters say there is a strategic value in making Greenland part of the U.S. given its geographic location and how rich it is with oil, uranium and other rare minerals.

But Americans don't seem to keen on the idea, according to a Pew Research Center survey released earlier this year. It found 58% of U.S. adults oppose a takeover of the island versus 21% who support the idea. About 20% said they weren't sure, the poll found.

The new consulate's unveiling in the capital Nuuk was part of a weeklong diplomatic effort that also saw U.S. special envoy Jeff Landry, who is the governor of Louisiana, attending an Arctic-focused conference. He said he was in Greenland to "listen and learn," and also huddled with Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Foreign Minister Mute Egede.

Hundreds of Greenlanders reportedly gathered outside the new U.S. consulate to protest against Trump's ambitious plan. Some leaders in the territory, such as Pipaluk Lynge, who chairs its foreign and security policy committee, said the administration's efforts this week were "a clear attempt to divide" Greenlanders during the sensitive negotiations.

Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard