Greenlanders just did what too many Americans failed to do in 2016: they saw Donald Trump as a bullying snake-oil salesman with autocratic and imperial ambitions — and they rejected his pitch outright.

With Tuesday’s parliamentary results, Greenlanders made clear their intent to maintain their colonial ties to Denmark. That’s because they fully appreciate the risk of becoming easy prey for strongmen like Trump and Putin.

The ruling pro-independence party, Siumut, was sent packing — not because Greenlanders don’t dream of sovereignty. It’s just that they know the dangers of going it alone in a world where predators are always circling. Severing ties with Denmark would’ve left them as vulnerable as a baby seal in waters filled with killer whales.

Trump’s colonial fantasy meets Greenland’s reality

Trump’s obsession with Greenland isn’t new. In 2019, he floated the idea of buying it — like some fixer-upper in foreclosure. Greenlanders, of course, laughed off the absurdity.

But Trump’s interest was never a joke. His goal was always to exploit Greenland’s strategic location and vast resources. Like his fixation on reclaiming the Panama Canal, he keeps making offers he thinks Greenland can’t refuse — while tossing out hollow threats about taking it by force, if necessary.

That’s why he wanted the pro-independence party to win — betting that a Greenland free from Denmark’s protection would be easy prey. After all, as long as Greenland remains part of Denmark, even Trump wouldn’t dare use force to annex it any more than he would to make Canada the 51st state.

But Greenlanders outmaneuvered him. They saw what happened to Ukraine when Putin decided it was his. They watched as America, under Trump, wavered in its commitment to defending democracy. And they knew an independent Greenland, cut loose from Denmark, would be just another rich landmass ripe for the taking — whether by Trump’s America or Putin’s Russia.

Autocratic symmetry: Trump and Putin playing the same game

The irony is almost too rich. Trump spent his first presidency denying collusion with Putin. And he seems hell-bent on using his second to punish anyone who prosecuted or even criticized him for it.

Yet here Trump is — meddling in Greenland’s democracy just like Putin meddled in America’s election to help him win in 2016, exactly as prosecutors charged. More than ironic, this symmetry proves how comprehensively he’s aping Putin’s brand of strongman politics.

Greenland stands up to the bully

Mexico and Canada stood up to Trump by retaliating in kind with tariffs. Now, Greenland has done the same — at the ballot box. By rejecting the ill-advised push for independence, Greenlanders sent a clear message: they will not be pawns in a global game of imperial chess.

Trump may still dream of adding Greenland to his real estate portfolio. But Greenlanders just gave him the answer he hates most: No.