Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede said the island nation is “not for sale” after President-elect Donald Trump suggested the U.S. should take it over.
“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Egede said in a written comment, according to Reuters.
The statement came after Trump issued a post on Truth Social Sunday announcing Ken Howery as his pick for ambassador to Denmark and floating the idea of owning Greenland.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said.
This is not the first time Trump has floated the idea of purchasing Greenland. He made the suggestion in 2019 during his first term in office.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed the idea at the time as “absurd.”
“Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic,” Frederiksen added. “I persistently hope that this is not something that is seriously meant.”
Trump responded by calling Frederiksen “nasty” and canceled a state visit to the Denmark.
During his first term Trump also suggested to aides that he is open to trading Puerto Rico for Greenland.
Over the weekend, Trump also suggested that the U.S. take over the Panama Canal, which is owned and operated by the Panama government-owned Panama Canal Authority.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded that “every square meter” of the canal “belongs to Panama and will continue belonging to Panama.”
