President Trump risks alienating a European ally over his desire to buy Greenland, warned Steny Hoyer, the highest-ranking elected U.S. official of Danish lineage.
“The president’s decision to cancel his planned trip to Denmark is deeply disrespectful and insulting to one of our closest allies,” the House majority leader told the Washington Examiner on Wednesday.
Steny Hoyer’s father, Steen Theilgaard Høyer, was born in Copenhagen before immigrating to the U.S. In addition to the 80-year-old’s leadership responsibilities and constituent work in his Maryland district, Steny Hoyer chairs the Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus. He has led numerous delegations to the kingdom, including one in June. In 2009, he was named a Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog, a royal Danish order of chivalry.
The leader’s statement to the Washington Examiner comes after a more lighthearted tweet that mocked Trump for his conduct.
“Something tells me @realDonaldTrump won’t be joining me as a Danish knight,” he wrote.
Something tells me @realDonaldTrump won’t be joining me as a Danish knight. https://t.co/PrCv1cyiI2
— Steny Hoyer (@LeaderHoyer) August 21, 2019
Trump this week canceled his visit to Denmark and meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen because she dismissed his interest in acquiring the resource-rich autonomous Danish territory.
Trump was expected to travel to Copenhagen early next month after being invited by Queen Margrethe II.
