Trump confirms he's seriously 'interested' in buying Greenland, which is not for sale
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Some people said that President Trump had to be kidding about wanting to buy Greenland, while others believed an aide invented the whole story in order to make him look foolish, but on Sunday, Trump confirmed that he's "interested" in buying Greenland.
"It's something we talked about," Trump told reporters. "Denmark essentially owns it, we're very good allies with Denmark." He did acknowledge that the United States would "have to find out whether or not they have any interest" in selling, but he said they are "losing a tremendous amount of money, so we'll see what happens." His top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, is supporting Trump's endeavor, saying on Fox News Sunday he doesn't want to "predict an outcome. I just know the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look at a potential Greenland purchase."
Denmark has already given its answer: No. "Greenland is not for sale," Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told the newspaper Sermitsiag on Sunday. "Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously." Frederiksen will be able to reiterate this to Trump's face in September, when he is scheduled to visit the country. About 56,000 people live on Greenland, and one resident, Anna Kuitse Kúko, told NBC News that she's pretty sure every single one of them thinks this is "a sick joke by a crazy president."
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.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
