In the eyes of many of his fellow Greenlanders, Jorgen Boasen is a traitor.
A few weeks ago, someone punched him in the face in a bar in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, and he ended up in the hospital. But despite the consequences of his beliefs, he says he is not afraid. “The United States is with me,” he said.
Boasen, a 51-year-old former bricklayer, is a passionate supporter of US President Donald Trump. He campaigned for him in the United States and helped organize Donald Trump Jr.'s visit to Greenland this year. On his coffee table at home, three immaculately preserved MAGA hats take pride of place.
While his support for the US president, who has vowed to take over Greenland “one way or another,” has made Boissan unpopular at home, it has also turned him into an unusual political player in the Arctic, a region of increasing importance in a warming world.
As he lay on the couch in his apartment on the outskirts of Nuuk, wearing a pink T-shirt with President Trump's image on it, his phone vibrated with messages from journalists and filmmakers who wanted to talk, as well as investors who hoped he was their ticket to riches in Greenland.
In the debate over the future of the world's largest island, a semi-autonomous overseas territory of Denmark, Mr. Boasen has made it his mission to bring Greenland and the United States closer together. However, Boasen noted that he "does not always agree" with the American president.
While Trump wants the United States to take over the island, Boasen instead advocates for a strong security alliance between an independent Greenland and Washington. That has made him one of the most prominent Greenlanders opposed to a union with Denmark. “Denmark has failed time and time again,” he said. “They are not capable of defending Greenland.”
He has built up high-level contacts in the Greenlandic government and has spent the past few months working for an organization that promotes closer ties between the United States and Greenland. “Greenland’s future looks brightest with America,” Boasen said.
His transformation from bricklayer to political actor began with a flurry of social media posts in support of Donald Trump: sharing memes, defending him in comments, and explaining his policies to a Greenlandic audience. Last year, those posts caught the attention of Tom Dance, Trump's former Arctic adviser.
“I became curious,” Duns said in an interview. “There aren’t many people in that part of the world who support Trump.” Duns, who previously worked at the conservative Heritage Foundation, sponsored Boasen to attend Trump’s campaign rally in Pittsburgh last fall. During the final stages of the campaign, Boasen went door-to-door in Pennsylvania, lobbying for Trump.
The Greenlander says he likes Trump's direct communication style and that "he's a good person, when you really look at him."
Born in Kakortok, a small coastal town in southern Greenland, Boasen grew up with a single mother and maternal grandmother, in poverty, in a modest house without heating - a stark contrast to the childhood of his political idol.
He was a reclusive child who fell in love with politics by watching VHS tapes, reading books and watching television, “the only way I could see the world outside of Greenland,” he said.
After working a number of different jobs, he finally found himself as a bricklayer, building houses in Denmark.
But after his potential was "discovered" through social media, he now serves as the Greenland director for "American Daybreak," a nonprofit organization founded by Tom Dance that promotes strengthening ties between the United States and Greenland.
He and Dans claim that Boasen met Donald Trump Jr. at a campaign party on Election Day, where he suggested a visit to Greenland.
Although Boasen says he does not have direct access to Donald Trump Jr., he claims to communicate with Trump's team through Tom Dance.
In March, American Daybreak helped promote a visit by Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President J.D. Vance, to the Greenland National Sled Race. However, after reports of planned protests by Greenlandic activists, the visit was repurposed into a brief stopover for the Vances at a remote U.S. military base on the island.
Despite its ambitions, American Daybreak's website still displays the message "Coming Soon," and its social media presence is limited to photos of Tom Dance in Greenland and Boasin posing with celebrities like Nigel Farage, Conor McGregor, and Senator Ted Cruz.
Although many of Greenland's 56.000 residents want independence, a recent poll showed that 85 percent of them do not want to become part of the United States.
Some dismiss Boasen's efforts. "He's just riding the wave of populism," said Frederik Krejcman, a social worker in Sisimiut, Greenland's second-largest city. "I don't think much of him."
Boassen knows some think he's being taken advantage of, but he believes he's part of something bigger, and he wants Greenland to seize the opportunity while it still has Trump's attention. "I'm part of world history now," Boassen said. "Maybe I'm just a pawn in a bigger game," he added. "Politics is dirty, but if we don't move quickly, we'll miss our chance."
Translation: NB
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