President Trump said he is postponing his scheduled meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in two weeks because of her refusal to entertain his interest in buying Greenland.
“Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!”
….The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
Trump was expected to visit Copenhagen early next month as part of a trip to Europe after being invited by Queen Margrethe II. A White House official confirmed to CNN on Tuesday that the visit to Denmark has been canceled.
Over the weekend, Trump told reporters that he is interested in purchasing the resource-rich island for the U.S. “Strategically it’s interesting and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not No. 1 on the burner, I can tell you that,” Trump said.
Denmark, which refused to sell Greenland during the Truman administration, reacted by saying Greenland is not for sale.
Frederiksen called Trump’s idea of buying the Arctic island “an absurd discussion,” and Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen said such talk was “not something to joke about.”
