The Prime Minister of Greenland has rejected a strange proposal from Donald Trump, who argued that the United States should take over the territory.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede said in a statement in response.
The rejection occurred after Trump announced the appointment of Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark. Howery, who was a part of a group of wealthy former PayPal executives including Elon Musk, funded the pro-Trump super PAC America PAC that spent millions to elect Trump.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Greenland is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark and has been making strides toward self-government over the last decade and a half. Most of the territory’s population of nearly 56,000 people is of Inuit descent.
Trump has been fixated on taking over Greenland for years despite it being an issue that most Americans have neither heard of nor thought about. According to multiple reports, Trump suggested to aides that the United States trade Puerto Rico for Greenland during his first term.
“I love maps. And I always said: ‘Look at the size of this. It’s massive. That should be part of the United States,’” Trump reportedly said, justifying his obsession.
The clash with Greenland’s government echoes acrimonious exchanges Trump has had with several other governments, including in Mexico, Canada, and Panama. In contrast, Trump has shown openness toward traditional U.S. adversaries like Russia and North Korea.
Even before being sworn in as president, Trump has been returning to his destructive brand of foreign policy after outgoing President Joe Biden worked to repair alliances.
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