SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Southern New Hampshire University Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire on August 15, 2019. (Photo: Lev Radin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
'This Is Final Proof That He Has Gone Mad': Denmark Mocks Trump's Reported Desire to Buy Greenland
"The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous."
Aug 16, 2019
Amid reports that President Donald Trump has directed aides to examine whether the United States can purchase Greenland--an autonomous territory of Denmark--Danish lawmakers on Friday condemned the idea as both absurd and "grotesque."
"If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof that he has gone mad," Soren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesman for the Danish People's Party, told local broadcaster DR. "The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous."
"We are talking about real people and you can't just sell Greenland like an old colonial power. But what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise."
--Martin Lidegaard, Danish Social Liberal Party
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump's desire to purchase Greenland Thursday night.
"Trump has repeatedly expressed interest--with varying degrees of seriousness--in buying Greenland, asking advisers whether it would be feasible and directing the White House counsel to look into it," according to the Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus.
The Washington Post, which cited two people with direct knowledge of the president's directive, reported that Trump's "request has bewildered aides, some of whom continue to believe it isn't serious, but Trump has mentioned it for weeks."
"It was unclear why Trump might want the United States to buy Greenland," the Post reported, "though his administration has identified the Arctic as an area of growing importance to U.S. national security interests."
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Danish MP from Greenland's second-largest party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), told Reuters on Friday that she is "sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States, in the long-term."
Martin Lidegaard, senior lawmaker of the Danish Social Liberal Party, said Trump's reported directive has the potential to be extremely dangerous.
"We are talking about real people and you can't just sell Greenland like an old colonial power," Lidegaard told Reuters. "But what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise, and they want a much bigger influence."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Amid reports that President Donald Trump has directed aides to examine whether the United States can purchase Greenland--an autonomous territory of Denmark--Danish lawmakers on Friday condemned the idea as both absurd and "grotesque."
"If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof that he has gone mad," Soren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesman for the Danish People's Party, told local broadcaster DR. "The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous."
"We are talking about real people and you can't just sell Greenland like an old colonial power. But what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise."
--Martin Lidegaard, Danish Social Liberal Party
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump's desire to purchase Greenland Thursday night.
"Trump has repeatedly expressed interest--with varying degrees of seriousness--in buying Greenland, asking advisers whether it would be feasible and directing the White House counsel to look into it," according to the Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus.
The Washington Post, which cited two people with direct knowledge of the president's directive, reported that Trump's "request has bewildered aides, some of whom continue to believe it isn't serious, but Trump has mentioned it for weeks."
"It was unclear why Trump might want the United States to buy Greenland," the Post reported, "though his administration has identified the Arctic as an area of growing importance to U.S. national security interests."
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Danish MP from Greenland's second-largest party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), told Reuters on Friday that she is "sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States, in the long-term."
Martin Lidegaard, senior lawmaker of the Danish Social Liberal Party, said Trump's reported directive has the potential to be extremely dangerous.
"We are talking about real people and you can't just sell Greenland like an old colonial power," Lidegaard told Reuters. "But what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise, and they want a much bigger influence."
Amid reports that President Donald Trump has directed aides to examine whether the United States can purchase Greenland--an autonomous territory of Denmark--Danish lawmakers on Friday condemned the idea as both absurd and "grotesque."
"If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof that he has gone mad," Soren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesman for the Danish People's Party, told local broadcaster DR. "The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous."
"We are talking about real people and you can't just sell Greenland like an old colonial power. But what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise."
--Martin Lidegaard, Danish Social Liberal Party
The Wall Street Journal first reported on Trump's desire to purchase Greenland Thursday night.
"Trump has repeatedly expressed interest--with varying degrees of seriousness--in buying Greenland, asking advisers whether it would be feasible and directing the White House counsel to look into it," according to the Journal's Rebecca Ballhaus.
The Washington Post, which cited two people with direct knowledge of the president's directive, reported that Trump's "request has bewildered aides, some of whom continue to believe it isn't serious, but Trump has mentioned it for weeks."
"It was unclear why Trump might want the United States to buy Greenland," the Post reported, "though his administration has identified the Arctic as an area of growing importance to U.S. national security interests."
Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, Danish MP from Greenland's second-largest party Inuit Ataqatigiit (IA), told Reuters on Friday that she is "sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States, in the long-term."
Martin Lidegaard, senior lawmaker of the Danish Social Liberal Party, said Trump's reported directive has the potential to be extremely dangerous.
"We are talking about real people and you can't just sell Greenland like an old colonial power," Lidegaard told Reuters. "But what we can take seriously is that the U.S. stakes and interest in the Arctic is significantly on the rise, and they want a much bigger influence."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.