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- President Donald Trump said in a tweet that he scrapped plans to meet with Denmark’s prime minister after she rebuffed his idea of possibly purchasing the autonomous island of Greenland.
- A White House official later told Insider that Trump’s entire visit to Denmark was canceled.
- Trump previously said the idea to purchase Greenland was not on his list of priorities, and that it was not the sole basis for his visit to Denmark.
- "The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct," Trump said in a tweet. "I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!"
- Danish officials rejected the idea of purchasing Greenland and described the idea as "absurd."
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he scrapped plans for a bilateral meeting with Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen during his upcoming trip in Europe, after she rebuffed his idea of possibly purchasing the autonomous island of Greenland.
Trump suggested in a tweet that the decision was based on the prime minister’s direct thoughts about the potential purchase.
"Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen ‘s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time," Trump tweeted.
"The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct," Trump added. "I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!"
A White House official later told Insider that Trump’s entire visit to Denmark would be canceled.
The president previously said the idea was not on his list of priorities, and that it was not the sole basis for his visit to Denmark.
Read more: Trump shared a meme promising he wouldn’t put a Trump Tower on Greenland
Trump was expected to visit to Denmark on September 2, for his broader tour around Europe. He was invited by Queen Margrethe II, whose government previously confirmed it was "operating under the assumption" of the visit and preparing for it.
"I’m thinking about going there," Trump told reporters on Sunday. "I’m not necessarily definitely going there, but I may be going. We’re going to Poland and then we may be going to Denmark — not for this reason at all."
The president internally discussed his interest in the purchase, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, and he later publicly admitted it was "strategically … interesting."
"It’s just something we talking about," Trump told reporters last week. "Denmark essentially owns it. We’re good allies with Denmark. We protected Denmark like we protect large portions of the world, so the concept came up."
Danish officials have since rejected the notion and described the idea as "absurd."
"Greenland is not for sale," Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, according to Bloomberg. "By the way, Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic."
"It must be an April Fool’s Day joke," former Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said in a tweet. "But totally out of [season]!"
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See Also:
- Trump wants to buy Greenland. Only one-third of Americans would be willing to offer more than $12 for the island.
- Trump shared a meme promising he wouldn’t put a Trump Tower on Greenland
- Trump wants to buy Greenland. It’s not for sale, but it would be really expensive if it were.
SEE ALSO: Trump wants to buy Greenland. It’s not for sale, but it would be really expensive if it were.
Source: Business Insider – dchoi@businessinsider.com (David Choi)