The government of Greenland is dismissing the idea that the island is for sale, following media reports that U.S. President Donald Trump has been discussing interest to purchase the Danish territory with White House advisors.But this is not the first time the U.S. has considered to purchase the massive ice-covered island.William Henry Seward, President Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of State in the 1860s proposed both the purchase of Greenland and Iceland when he was negotiating the purchase of Alaska from Russia.FILE – President Donald Trump speaks to the media before leaving the White House in Washington.Greenland detailsGreenland is an autonomous Danish territory, located between the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.The island territory is politically and culturally associated with Europe but the majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century.Greenland became Danish in 1814, and was fully integrated in the Danish state in 1953.Greenland’s location makes it absolutely vital to the defense of North America and the Trump administration should increase its focus on building relations, writes Luke Coffey of the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation.“Greenland does not receive attention from American policymakers in proportion to its security importance to the U.S,” says Coffey who is advocating for a formal American diplomatic presence there for national security, economic and energy security reasons. “This is particularity important at a time when other global actors, such as China, are becoming more involved in the Arctic region,” he added.In 2018, the U.S. blocked China from financing three airports on the island.Currently the U.S. northernmost military base is the Thule Air Base, located on the northwest coast of the island of Greenland. The base part of a U.S. ballistic missile early-warning system, also used by the U.S. Air Force Space Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.Twitter fodderMany took to mocking the idea of purchasing Greenland on twitter.David Axelrod, who served as a senior adviser in the Obama administration, tweeted “If the U.S. actually could purchase Greenland, as POTUS has suggested, would he rename it Trumpland? #Branding”If the U.S. actually could purchase Greenland, as @POTUS apparently has suggested, would he rename it Trumpland?#Branding— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) August 16, 2019Danish politicians including former Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also dismissed the idea. “It must be an April Fool’s Day joke…but totally out of [season]!”, he tweeted.It must be an April Fool’s Day joke … but totally out of sesson! https://t.co/ev5DDVZc5f— Lars Løkke Rasmussen (@larsloekke) August 15, 2019Previous purchaseThe U.S. purchased the territory now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1916, under the Treaty of the Danish West Indies.The territory consists of the main islands of Saint Croix, Saint John and Saint Thomas, which have become major tourist destinations.The islands are considered a U.S. unincorporated territory, an area controlled by the U.S. government but where the U.S. constitution only partially applies.
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