Don’s Green deal
W. House eager to buy isle Danes not selling
President Trump won’t take no for an answer on what would be his biggest real estate deal ever.
The administration is “looking at” buying Greenland, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“It’s developing. We’re looking at it. We don’t know,” he said. “Denmark owns Greenland. Denmark is an ally. Greenland is a strategic place up there, and they got a lot of valuable minerals,” Kudlow added.
Kudlow’s remarks confirmed reports last week that Trump is fascinated by the idea of buying Greenland.
The accounts drew rebuffs from Danish leaders, including Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who arrived Sunday on her first trip to Greenland. “It’s an absurd discussion,” Frederiksen said. In her comments, she cited a statement from Greenland’s government that says the island “is not for sale.”
Trump is to visit Denmark in the coming weeks. “There is really much else we would like to talk to the U.S. president about,” Frederiksen said.
“Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism,” Greenland’s Foreign Ministry tweeted.
“We are open for business, but we’re not for sale.”
Kudlow’s remarks had an air of playfulness, with the economic adviser saying, “Maybe I’ll run the central bank.”
“I don’t want to predict an outcome,” he told Fox News host Dana Perino. “I’m just saying the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look.”
Trump’s interest in Greenland evoked one of his remarks from his 2016 presidential campaign, in which he said the U.S. should have taken Iraq’s oil on the premise “to the victor go the spoils.”
The September 2016 remark sparked controversy. Trump’s latest musing appears to be provoking more jeers.
“The difference between Donald Trump and Greenland? Greenland is not for sale,” presidential hopeful Sen. Amy Klobuchar (DMinn.) tweeted.
Still, some loyal Republicans have rushed to support Trump’s gushing over Greenland.
“This idea isn’t as crazy as the headline makes it seem. This a smart geopolitical move,” tweeted Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.). “The United States has a compelling strategic interest in Greenland, and this should absolutely be on the table.”
Trump is not to be the first U.S. leader who has eyed Greenland, which was a colony of Denmark’s until the territories were fully integrated in 1951. It’s the least densely populated territory in the world, with more than 80% of its land mass covered in ice.
Former President Harry Truman’s administration offered to buy the massive island from Denmark for $100 million in 1946.
“People have forgotten about how important places like Greenland were in the Cold War,” historian Ronald Doel of Florida State University told The Washington Post.
National Archives documents detailing the U.S.’ interest in Greenland do not contain information on Greenland and Denmark’s responses at the time.