The monumental task of differentiating fact from fiction grows harder every day, and it’s not helped by the rampant lies spread by what should be trusted sources in politics.
Sources like Donald Trump Jr., son of incoming president Donald Trump, who’s enjoyed broad influence over his father’s presidency so far. He’s already enjoying plenty of adjacent control, as he chimes in on various political happenings from afar and even makes moves to help further his father’s agenda.
Like at the outset of 2025, when, after weeks of watching his father hurl threats at various U.S. allies, including Greenland, Trump Jr. made the abrupt decision to visit — you guessed it! — Greenland. He made a trip to the territory in early January, but it reportedly had nothing to do with politics. The trip was supposedly for purely personal purposes, but the eldest Trump son still managed to MAGA things up while he was away.
Social media quickly took note of several images uploaded by good old Donny Jr., depicting the 47-year-old amid a sea of red hat-wearing Trump supporters. He boasted that “Greenland loves America and Trump,” and implied that the territory is absolutely overflowing with foreign MAGA sympathizers. He gloated over the “awesome reception” his visit received, and added that Greenlanders “just want to be able to utilize some of the incredible resources that they have and allow themselves, their country, and their kids to flourish.”
The image immediately sparked conversations, as people wondered how serious Trump’s threats toward the territory were, and scratched their heads over the seeming revelation that Greenland is much more invested in American politics than most would assume.
Which is right around when the truth started to emerge. As Trump Jr. and his team headed back from the territory, their social medias now overstuffed with supposedly supportive Greenlanders, rumors began spreading like wild. They claimed that no such group of America-obsessed citizens exists, and that Trump Jr. had staged his photos to make it appear that his father boasts far more support than he does.
The rumors were unverified for a while, but within a week of Trump Jr.’s visit the truth had come out. Several Danish papers published stories about the American visitor who lured various Greenlanders — many of them without homes — into a nearby restaurant for a free meal and a politically-motivated snapshot or two.
Danish tabloid Ekstra Bladet explained, in coverage of Trump Jr.’s visit, that the people in the image “were led into the hotel by Trump’s people, who also invited them to lunch.” Quotes shared by Danish-speakers added weight to the claims the photos were staged.
According to one person who translated Trump Jr.’s video, a woman in the crowd said she “was just standing around Brugsen” — a supermarket chain — “and they invited me.” When asked who she was invited by, the woman supposedly (hilariously) responded with “ehh Strump? I don’t know his name.”
It seems Trump Jr. paraded around Nuuk, Greenland’s capitol, asking people if they’d like a free lunch, and once he’d gathered enough he plopped some MAGA hats on their heads and snapped a few photos. The majority of those gathered don’t seem to have realized what they were signing up for, but Trump Jr. got what he wanted, and he’s sticking with his story.
The Trumps know that, despite the evidence, their base will never believe a single negative report about them, so they’re getting more and more bold with their manipulation of the truth. We’re only set to see more “alternative facts” spread as the next four years unfold, so make sure to take anything you see online — particularly if it’s spread by a notorious liar — with a heaping helping of skepticism.
