Trump says buying Greenland is not his top priority – Washington Examiner

President Trump called the possibility of buying Greenland a “large real estate deal” but added that it is not his number one priority.

“Essentially it’s a large real estate deal,” Trump told reporters in New Jersey on Sunday. “A lot of things could be done. It’s hurting Denmark because they’re losing almost $700 million a year carrying it. So they carry it at a great loss. And strategically, for the United States it would be nice.

“Greenland, it got released somehow. It’s something we talked about. Denmark essentially owns it. We’re very good allies with Denmark. We protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world,” he continued. “So the concept came up, and I said, ‘Certainly, I’d be.’ Strategically, it’s interesting, and we’d be interested, but we’ll talk to them a little bit. It’s not number one on the burner.”

Greenland said Friday that the autonomous Danish-held territory is not for sale.

“Greenland is rich in valuable resources such as minerals, the purest water and ice, fish stocks, seafood, renewable energy and is a new frontier for adventure tourism. We’re open for business, not for sale,” the foreign ministry tweeted.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the president had told several of his advisers with varying levels of seriousness that he was interested in purchasing Greenland.