Greenland to Trump: ‘We’re not for sale’

Politicians in Denmark and Greenland reacted with surprise on Friday, dismissing the idea that President Trump could purchase Greenland after it was reported a day earlier the president had been asking aides about the possibility of buying the world’s largest island, which has been a Danish territory for more than two centuries.

“We are open for business, but we’re not for sale,” Greenland’s foreign minister, Ane Lone Bagger, said, according to Reuters.

Lawmakers from two of Denmark’s major political parties torched the idea in statements to Reuters and a Danish broadcaster, while a former U.S. ambassador referred to news of the situation as a “disaster.”

{mosads}“I am sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States, in the long term,” said Danish MP Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, according to Reuters.

“My immediate thought is ‘No, thank you,’ ” she continued.

Danish conservatives are no more recipient to the idea. A spokesman for the Danish People’s Party, a right-leaning conservative party that represents the third largest party in the country, called the plan “ridiculous.”

“If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad,” spokesman Soren Espersen told broadcaster DR, according to Reuters.

“The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous,” he reportedly added.

“Oh dear lord. As someone who loves Greenland, has been there 9 times to every corner and loves the people, this is a complete and total catastrophe,” wrote former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford.

“I was Ambassador to Denmark which means I was Ambassador to Greenland. It is remarkably pristine and complex. A place unlike any other corner of the planet. It simply must be handled with immense care and the best intentions for the people there and the global climate,” he added. “If anyone believes Trump has either in mind, please reconsider your reality.”

Oh dear lord.

As someone who loves Greenland, has been there 9 times to every corner and loves the people, this is a complete and total catastrophe. ❤️ https://t.co/Cs2wHhC6U9

— Rufus Gifford (@rufusgifford) August 15, 2019

If anyone believes Trump has either in mind, please reconsider your reality.

— Rufus Gifford (@rufusgifford) August 15, 2019

Trump is slated to visit Copenhagen in September and have meetings with the prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland, according to Reuters.

About 56,000 people live in Greenland. It wasn’t clear Thursday as to what stage the White House was at in the possible proposal.

Updated at 8:11 a.m.