Trump cancels Denmark visit
Trump had expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark — which is mostly covered in ice
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was postponing a planned meeting with Denmark’s prime minister because she does not want to sell Greenland to the United States.
Trump’s decision confirms just how interested he was in purchasing Greenland, an idea that had initially been dismissed as a joke by some, but which the White House later insisted had a serious purpose because of the territory’s strategic location.
“Based on Prime Minister
Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time,”
Trump tweeted. A White House spokesman confirmed that “the visit to Denmark is canceled.” “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!” the US president wrote.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had expressed interest in the self-governing part of Denmark — which is mostly covered in ice — asking advisors if it would be possible for the US to acquire the territory. The president, a former real estate magnate, has been curious about the area’s natural resources and geopolitical relevance, the paper said.
Trump confirmed Sunday that he was indeed interested in buying Greenland, but said it was not a priority for his administration, and that the Denmark trip was “not for this reason at all.”