President Trump wants the US to 'own' Greenland. Denmark, its current 'owner', is opposed, as are many European countries. The situation appears complicated; it's not.
Pragmatically, Denmark cannot defend Greenland from aggression. It can barely defend itself. At base, the same is true for many or most of the objecting European countries. Should Russia or China make an aggressive move toward Greenland, only one nation could plausibly stand in their way: the United States. When Trump boasts of this, he is — for all his boastfulness — telling the truth.
Greenlanders aren't interested in becoming our 51st state. If such a proposal were posited, the issue would have to be put to the inhabitants of Greenland, who — if reports can be believed — would vote 'no' overwhelmingly. The US wouldn't, as a matter of policy, provide for Greenlanders the sort of European-style benefits they currently enjoy, so there's that. Denmark is currently shelling out $600M per year for Greenland 'maintenance, but gets approximately nothing from Greenland in return. Why they wouldn't want to shed it is something of a mystery.
So, what is the simple solution? Simply this: Greenland needs to be an independent nation — not some nation's property — not 'owned' except by its own people.
Let Greenland make its own deal with whomever is interested in dealing for whatever terms they can negotiate.
I know someone who will give them a pretty lush payoff, and they won't have to become a state to get it.
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