Within the eyes of lots of his fellow Greenlanders, Jorgen Boassen is a traitor.
Just a few weeks in the past at a dive bar in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, somebody slugged him within the face, sending him to the hospital. However regardless of the penalties of his convictions, he insists he isn’t scared.
“The US has my again,” he mentioned.
Mr. Boassen, 51, a former bricklayer, is a fervid supporter of President Trump. He campaigned for him in america and helped coordinate Donald Trump Jr.’s go to to Greenland this yr. On his espresso desk at dwelling, three pristine MAGA hats occupy a spot of honor.
Whereas his championing of the American president — who has vowed to take over Greenland “by hook or by crook” — has made Mr. Boassen unpopular at dwelling, it has additionally turned him into an unlikely political participant within the Arctic, a area of rising significance in a warming world longing for its untapped assets.
As he lounged on a sofa in his condominium on the sting of Nuuk, sporting a pink T-shirt emblazoned with Mr. Trump’s face, his cellphone buzzed with a stream of texts from journalists and filmmakers who wished to speak and traders who hoped he was their ticket to riches in Greenland.
Within the debate about the way forward for the world’s largest island, a semiautonomous abroad territory of Denmark, Mr. Boassen has made it his mission to convey Greenland and america nearer collectively.
Nonetheless, Mr. Boassen famous he “doesn’t at all times agree” with the American president.
Whereas Mr. Trump wants to claim the island for america, Mr. Boassen is pushing as an alternative for a good safety alliance between an impartial Greenland and Washington. That has made him one of the vital seen Greenlanders agitating to interrupt with Denmark.
“Denmark has failed many times,” he mentioned. “They aren’t as much as the problem of defending Greenland.”
He has cultivated high-level contacts in Greenland’s authorities and has spent the previous few months working full time for a company selling nearer U.S.-Greenland ties.
“Greenland’s future appears to be like brightest with America,” Mr. Boassen mentioned.
His transformation from bricklayer to political participant started by posting prolifically on social media in assist of Mr. Trump: sharing memes, defending him in remark threads and explaining his politics to a Greenlandic viewers. Final yr, these posts caught the attention of Tom Dans, a former Trump adviser for Arctic affairs.
“I bought curious,” Mr. Dans mentioned in an interview. “There aren’t many individuals in that a part of the world standing up for Trump.”
Mr. Dans, who used to work on the conservative Heritage Basis, sponsored Mr. Boassen to attend a Trump marketing campaign occasion in Pittsburgh final fall. Throughout the remaining stretch, Mr. Boassen went door to door for Mr. Trump in Pennsylvania.
The Greenlander says he loves Mr. Trump’s direct communication fashion and that “he’s a superb particular person, when you research him.”
Born in Qaqortoq, a small coastal city in southern Greenland, Mr. Boassen was raised by a single mom and maternal grandmother with little cash, in a modest dwelling with little warmth — a markedly completely different upbringing from that of his political idol.
A quiet baby, he turned fascinated with politics by means of VHS tapes, books and tv — “the one technique to see the surface world,” he mentioned.
After drifting by means of a string of jobs, he settled on bricklayer, constructing homes in Denmark.
However after being found on social media, he now serves as Greenland director for American Dawn, a nonprofit group based by Mr. Dans that promotes nearer U.S.-Greenland ties.
He and Mr. Dans say that he met Mr. Trump Jr. on the marketing campaign’s election evening occasion, the place he recommended a future go to to Greenland.
Although Mr. Boassen mentioned he doesn’t have direct entry to Mr. Trump Jr., he mentioned he communicates with the Trump workforce by means of Mr. Dans.
In March, American Dawn helped promote a go to by Usha Vance, Vice President JD Vance’s spouse, to Greenland’s nationwide canine sled race. However after reviews of deliberate protests by Greenlandic activists, the go to was modified to a brief stop by the Vances at a distant U.S. army outpost on the island.
Regardless of its ambitions, American Dawn’s web site nonetheless reads, “Coming quickly,” and its social media presence is proscribed to images of Mr. Dans in Greenland and Mr. Boassen posing with figures like Nigel Farage, Conor McGregor and Senator Ted Cruz.
Though lots of Greenland’s 56,000 individuals need independence, a current opinion ballot confirmed 85 p.c of them didn’t need to change into a part of america.
And a few are dismissive of Mr. Boassen’s efforts. “He’s simply using the populist wave,” mentioned Frederik Kreutzmann, a social employee in Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-largest city. “I don’t suppose a lot of him.”
Whereas Mr. Boassen is aware of that some suppose he’s getting used, he believes he’s a part of one thing larger — and desires Greenland to grab the second whereas it nonetheless has Mr. Trump’s consideration.
“I’m a part of world historical past now,” Mr. Boassen mentioned. “Possibly I’m only a pawn in an even bigger recreation,” he added. “Politics is soiled, but when we don’t transfer quick, we’ll miss our probability.”
