Donald Trump Joked About Trading Puerto Rico For Greenland, Says ‘New York Times’ Report
After Donald Trump expressed interest in purchasing the autonomous Danish region of Greenland, and the suggestion was shot down by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, The Inquisitr reported that he canceled his planned trip to Denmark.
Although some thought Trump’s proposal was a joke, Newsweek reports that he has been talking about the possibility for more than a year. Not only that, a report by The New York Times claims that Trump joked about trading Greenland for Puerto Rico.
“At one point last year, according to a former official who heard him, he even joked in a meeting about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland — happy to rid himself of an American territory whose leadership he has feuded with repeatedly,” the report reads.
According to Frederiksen, whom Trump said was “nasty” for calling his proposal “absurd,” she doesn’t believe she was disrespectful to the U.S. president.
“I don’t think I have been blunt or harsh in this discussion,” Frederiksen said, per The National Post. “I actually think we have responded very nicely from the Danish side.”
The NYT report claims that Trump’s desire to buy Greenland likely stems from his desire to do something “big” as president. If Trump were to purchase Greenland, the size of the U.S. would increase by over 20 percent.
Carla Sands, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark, attempted to diffuse the tension between Denmark and the U.S. and said that Trump “values and respects” the Danish. She also claims that Trump is looking forward to visiting the country at a later date and said that allies and friends such as the U.S. and Denmark, “should be able to discuss all issues openly and candidly.”
Per NBC News, Puerto Ricans are taking to Twitter to jab back at Trump’s purported proposal. Apparently, they wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.
“We’re ready,” one user wrote.
Donald Trump reportedly joked with his top aides about trading Puerto Rico for Greenland https://t.co/TS0G6WWGfP
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) August 22, 2019
Trump and Puerto Rico have clashed many times in the past. Reuters reports that Trump slammed the territory’s leaders in July, suggesting they wasted billions of hurricane disaster relief.
“You have totally grossly incompetent leadership at the top of Puerto Rico,” he said. “The leadership is corrupt and incompetent.”
Trump was opposed to legislation that boosted disaster relief that included funding to Puerto Rico, although he eventually relented. He claims that Puerto Rico squandered the money, suggesting it went into the hands of incompetent and corrupt people. He also says that Congress is not happy about it.
