Trump wanted to buy Greenland

Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland and has already asked his advisers and lawyers if the US can buy the world's largest island, which is part of Denmark, the WSJ found out . In early September, Trump will make his first visit to Denmark, although the trip is not related to the idea of ​​​​a possible purchase of Greenland, the newspaper notes.

This is not the first time that the idea of ​​buying Greenland from American presidents has arisen. After World War II, US President Harry Truman wanted to buy the island for $100 million, but Denmark did not agree to the deal.

What's happened. For the first time, Donald Trump voiced the idea of ​​buying Greenland last spring. At one of the dinner parties, the American leader told his aides that someone had told him about Denmark's financial difficulties due to the fact that Greenland is part of the kingdom. At the same time, he asked advisers whether Washington could try to buy the territory, and invited them to consider this idea: “What do you guys think about this? How do you think it will work?"

Since then, Trump's associates have been divided. Someone thinks that he was joking, the rest took the proposal of the American president seriously and supported him. Trump asked rather jokingly, as if he were “so powerful that he could buy the country,” says one of the associates who was present at the dinner.

The fact that this is not a joke is indicated by the stories of other interlocutors of the publication. They claim that Trump asked his advisers more than once whether the United States could buy Greenland - during official and casual meetings and dinners. Trump also asked a White House lawyer to look into the idea, sources add.

What's next. In early September, Trump will make his first visit to Denmark, although the trip is not related to the idea of ​​​​a possible purchase of Greenland, WSJ interlocutors say. Formally, the purchase is really possible. WSJ sources compare the purchase of the island with the Alaska deal sold to the US by the Russian Empire in 1867 for $7.2 million.

Greenland is the world's largest island and an autonomous territory of Denmark. The kingdom has only control over defense, foreign and monetary policy. The island is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The population of Greenland is about 56 thousand people.

Why is the US. The main value of Greenland for the United States is in natural resources and the ability to expand the country's military presence in the Arctic. A ten-year treaty has been signed between Denmark and the US that gives the US military "virtually unlimited rights" at the Thule Air Base in northern Greenland.