Trump is actually interested in buying Greenland

President Donald Trump has confirmed that he is actually interested in buying Greenland for strategic reasons, although it is 'not number 1 on the burner'.

The US president said that he is 'interested' in a plan to purchase the Arctic island from Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of 57,000 people between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

However, according to the Danish government the mass of land 'is not for sale,' as reported by the Sun.

Prime minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen slammed the proposal as she visited Greenland this weekend, saying that any discussion of a sale is 'absurd'.

Speaking to reporters, she said:

Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland.

I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously.

However, Mr Trump, who made his fortune in property, said there are many ways in which a purchase could be made, and also likened it to a 'large real estate deal'.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, he discussed the possibility, but also said that the move was not a priority, reports the Sun.

Speaking in Morristown, New Jersey, as he prepared to board Air Force One, Trump said:

Denmark essentially owns it.

We’re very good allies with Denmark, we protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world. So the concept came up and I said, ‘Certainly I’d be.’

He added:

The concept came up and ...strategically it's interesting.

It is not number one on the burner, I can tell you that.

US presidents have paid for areas of territory before.

In 1803, Thomas Jefferson bought tracts of land from France for $15m, in the so-called 'Louisiana purchase'. In 1867, Andrew Johnson paid $7.4m for Alaska from Russia, and in 1917, Woodrow Wilson bought the Danish West Indies for $25m, renaming them the US Virgin Islands, reports the Guardian.

HT Guardian

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