White House aide Kudlow confirms Trump is interested in buying Greenland
U.S. president 'wants to take a look at' acquiring the island, according to Larry Kudlow
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow is confirming that U.S. President Donald Trump "wants to take a look at" buying Greenland, although the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark has said it's not for sale.
Kudlow told Fox News Sunday that he won't predict what might happen, but he calls Greenland — which is situated between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans — "a strategic place" with "a lot of valuable minerals."
Larry Kudlow to Fox News: “I don't want to predict it now. I’m just saying the president, who knows a thing or two about buying real estate, wants to take a look at a potential Greenland purchase.”
—@rebeccaballhausThe U.S. military has operated for decades from Thule Air Base in Greenland. The northernmost U.S. base is part of the military's global network of radars and other sensors to provide ballistic missile warning and space surveillance.
Trump is scheduled to visit Denmark in September as part of a previously announced Europe trip.
After the idea of him buying Greeland emerged on Friday, some advisers dismissed it as a joke.
"If he is truly contemplating this, then this is final proof, that he has gone mad," Soren Espersen, the foreign affairs spokesperson for the Danish People's Party, told broadcaster DR.
"The thought of Denmark selling 50,000 citizens to the United States is completely ridiculous," he said.
It must be an April Fool’s Day joke ... but totally out of sesson! <a href="https://t.co/ev5DDVZc5f">https://t.co/ev5DDVZc5f</a>
—@larsloekkewith files from Reuters