Trump Wants To Buy Greenland And Residents Are Pushing Back

Denmark Says “We’re Good” President Trump is reportedly interested in purchasing Greenland from the Danish government. However, authorities on the island say Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is...

(Photo Credit: Linda Kastrup/AP, FILE)

Denmark Says “We’re Good”

President Trump is reportedly interested in purchasing Greenland from the Danish government. However, authorities on the island say Greenland is not for sale.

Greenland is technically part of Denmark but has an autonomous government. Greenland, the largest island in the world, is mostly covered by a sheet of ice. Only about 50,000 people live in Greenland, about 90 percent of whom are Inuit native to the island. The only livable land on the island is located along a thin strip of coastline.

Authorities in Denmark and Greenland aren’t sure why Trump is interested in buying Greenland but said the option is not on the table.

“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. We’re open for business, not for sale,” Greenland’s foreign minister said. Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen added, “Greenland is not for sale, but Greenland is open for trade and cooperation with other countries, including the USA.”

The Dane’s reaction to the idea of Trump purchasing Greenland was a bit harsher than Kielsen’s.

“If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad,” Soren Espersen, a spokesman for a Danish political party, told NPR. “The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous.”