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.
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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.
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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.
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