Trump reportedly wants to buy Greenland


Well here's one you probably didn't see coming. President Trump reportedly wants to buy ... Greenland.
While no one is quite sure how seriously to take the president, Trump has allegedly gone as far as to direct the White House counsel to "look into the idea," The Wall Street Journal reports. The president also reportedly brought up the idea at a dinner with his associates last spring, asking his guests, "What do you guys think about that? Do you think it would work?"
The answer is — well, to be honest, no one is quite sure what the answer is. Greenland is a self-governing, autonomous Danish territory with a population of 56,000. Of course, President Andrew Johnson famously bought Alaska, but that was also 1867 and Russia was actively looking to sell.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Greenland, meanwhile, is likely off most Americans' radars, although there are actually real reasons why Trump might be interested in the island — you know, beyond the opportunity to name a place that deceivingly appears to be as big as Africa on most maps "Trumplandia." Greenland is a key location for American national security interests and offers a wealth of natural resources.
Strangely enough, American presidents have looked into buying Greenland before — A for effort, Harry Truman! — but Denmark hasn't been interested in the offer so far. And there would still be a lot of details to iron out: Would Greenland get its own senators? Electoral college votes?
No matter. In a worst case scenario, it could always be converted into the world's biggest and coldest golf course.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Delhi's dogs earn Supreme Court reprieve
IN THE SPOTLIGHT After an outcry from the public and animal rights activists, India's Supreme Court walks back a controversial plan to round the city's stray dog population into shelters
-
8 hotels with ace tennis courts
The Week Recommends Bring your A game
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportation
Speed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year