One of the challenges with Donald Trump’s tendency to say outlandish, unflattering things is that it can be hard to tell when it’s entertainment and when it’s serious. Unfortunately for Denmark, it appears that Trump’s obsession with taking over Greenland appears to be the latter. According to a Report of the Financial Timesa call between Trump’s prime minister and Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen went sideways, and now the Danes are freshening up.
The story goes that Trump and Frederiksen spoke on the phone last week for about 45 minutes in what was expected to be some feeling between the two parties, given Trump’s very public statement that he would like to take Greenland off Denmark’s hands. Apparently there weren’t many pleasantries exchanged before Trump got aggro.
While Frederiksen reportedly expressed a willingness to cooperate with America, perhaps allowing the United States set up shop for military bases And digging up the wealth of mineral reserves of the island, that was not enough for Trump. He wants to buy Greenland outright and reportedly did not want to get rid of a position. “He was very firm. It was a cold shower,” a European official told the Financial Times. “Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I think it’s serious, and maybe very dangerous.”
So that’s not great. Officials described the Danish government as being in “crisis mode” following the call and said they were “totally refreshed by this.” Denmark, which is a NATO member along with the United States, is now staring down the barrel of possible tariffs that would seek to wreak havoc on the country’s economy until they are ready to leave Greenland.
They are right to be worried. For the US State DepartmentAmerica is Denmark’s largest export market, and trade between the two accounts for nearly 80,000 jobs for DANES. So there’s a fair chance for Trump to put the pressure on, and he’s reportedly sending some of the most annoying people possible to negotiate with. Ken Howery, a former Paypal mafia member along with Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, reportedly American Point Personpending Senate approval. And there’s another Thiel Ghoul, Dryden Brown, who seems ready to jump at the chance turn Greenland into a theonic utopiawhether they want it or not.
For what it’s worth, they don’t want it. Greenland isn’t exactly thrilled to be treated like a political football. While the island is home to only 57,000 people, it has its own autonomous government, and its head, Múte B. Egede, has stated that they are not interested in becoming US property. So far, that hasn’t really come across in the whole conversation. Instead, Trump and company look beyond the actual people and think entirely about exploiting the earth.