Trump cancels visit to Denmark because Copenhagen is not interested in selling Greenland
Danish politicians and public opinion were surprised by the decision to cancel US President Donald Trump's official visit because Copenhagen had previously refused to sell the autonomous Greenland to Washington.
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| Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and US President Donald Trump. Photo: AFP |
On Twitter, President Trump wrote on August 20 that because Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was not interested in discussing the sale of Greenland, he would cancel the meeting scheduled for the next two weeks and move it to another occasion.
Mr Trump, a real estate mogul, has previously called the idea of buying the world’s largest island “a big real estate deal”. He said Greenland was burdening Denmark economically and Copenhagen should be enthusiastic about his proposal.
However, Ms Frederiksen called Mr Trump's proposal to buy Greenland "absurd" and said they would never sell the island, which has a population of only about 55,000.
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| Icebergs in Greenland. Photo: AP |
Responding to the press on August 21, the Danish Prime Minister commented on Mr. Trump's cancellation of the meeting: "I feel uncomfortable and surprised that the US President canceled the visit. However, Denmark and the US are not in a state of crisis. Washington is still one of Denmark's closest allies" and the invitation to visit the European country is still open.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod agreed, stressing that he had a “frank, friendly and constructive conversation” with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo. Trump’s cancellation of a state visit on Twitter has received a rather harsh reaction from the Danish public.
“The reality has far exceeded anything I could have imagined. He is so unpredictable,” said Morten Ostergaard, a politician from the Social Liberal Party, part of the governing coalition.
“For no reason at all, Mr. Trump considered Denmark a part of the world that could be bought and sold. Then he canceled the visit that everyone had been preparing for a long time,” said Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the opposition Conservative Party.
"So Trump canceled his visit to Denmark because Copenhagen was not interested in selling Greenland? Is this a joke or not? (This move) is deeply offensive to the people of Denmark and Greenland," said former Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt.
"It's complete chaos with Donald Trump cancelling his state visit to Denmark. It's gone from a great opportunity to strengthen dialogue between allies to a diplomatic crisis," commented former Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen.
US "accuses" Denmark of insulting
On August 21, President Trump criticized Ms. Frederiksen's refusal to sell Greenland to the US as "full of irony and unpleasantness" and disrespectful to Washington.
“(Buying) Greenland was just an idea, a thought. But I think when they said it was 'ridiculous,' they were using a very nasty and sarcastic way of speaking. So I said we'll meet at some point,” Mr. Trump explained why he postponed his visit to Denmark.
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| US President Donald Trump. Photo: AP |
“We’re going to Denmark. I love Denmark. I’ve been to Denmark. And frankly, we’ll go there another time,” Trump said, criticizing Frederiksen for the tone of her response.
“She could have just said no, we’re not going to do that (sell Greenland) instead of blowing it up like that. She’s not talking to me, she’s talking to the United States. She shouldn’t be talking to the United States, at least during my term,” Trump said, accusing Frederiksen of “insulting” the United States.
