Donald Trump's Interest in Purchasing Greenland

Overview

Donald Trump's Interest in Purchasing Greenland refers to rumors that, in private, United States President Donald Trump has expressed interest in purchasing the country of Greenland. Greenland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded on Twitter, saying, "We’re open for business, not for sale."

Background

On August 15th, 2019, the Wall Street Journal^[1] reported that President Trump had expressed interest in purchasing Greenland to aides. The Journal writes:

In meetings, at dinners and in passing conversations, Mr. Trump has asked advisers whether the U.S. can acquire Greenland, listened with interest when they discuss its abundant resources and geopolitical importance and, according to two of the people, has asked his White House counsel to look into the idea.

Some of his advisers have supported the concept, saying it would be a good economic play, two of the people said, while others dismissed it as a fleeting fascination that will never come to fruition. It is also unclear how the U.S. would go about acquiring Greenland even if the effort were serious.

Developments

Online Reaction

People joked about the potential sale and the desire to purchase Greenland on Twitter. For example, Twitter^[3] user @YAppelbaum tweeted,^[3] "Honored sirs, I am PRINCE KIELSEN and I am contacting you with exciting opportunity. I recently inherited an island but need a small amount of cash. Send a money order for $600,000,000 to my account and I will give you 'Greenland.'" Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 11,000 likes and 1,900 retweets (shown below, left).

Twitter user @oneunderscore__ tweeted,^[4] "I think we should rent Greenland to see if we like it first." The tweet received more than 3,700 likes and 400 retweets in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Twitter user @mattdpearce tweeted,^[5] "Greenland to the U.S., Alaska to Russia and Crimea to Denmark in a blockbuster three-team trade." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 6,000 likes and 1,300 retweets (shown below).

Greenland Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Response

On August 16th, the Greenland Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted a response to the story. They wrote,^[2] "#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." The post received more than 9,500 likes and 2,900 retweets in 24 hours (shown below).

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the report, including Uproxx,^[6] CNN,^[7] CBS,^[8] BBC,^[9] Newsweek^[10] and more.

Search Interest

External References