LONDON -- Denmark's new government was less than two months old when U.S.President Donald Trump's campaign to acquire Greenland broke into public view in the summer of 2019."We thought it was unprecedented," recalled former Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, who then was in post and suddenly tasked with a transcontinental fire drill. Trump's desire for what he at the time called "essentially a large real estate deal" threw a wrench in the works of a planned state visit by the president to Denmark.
The president ultimately cancelled the trip, saying Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had shown "no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland."Frederiksen at the time rejected Trump's proposal as "absurd."Kofod, who has since left Danish politics, told ABC News in an interview on Tuesday that the 2019 saga was "a really bad situation for the bilateral relationship." Aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is seen in the sky above Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday, Jan.20, 2026.Evgeniy Maloletka/APGreenland relegated to 'stepping stone' in Trump-Europe standoff, party leader says"We also saw it as offending a close ally," Kofod recalled.
"We were very surprised that the first major comments he had were, 'Why can't I just buy Greenland?'"Copenhagen, he said, never considered formulating a price for Greenland's potential sale.At the time, though, Danish leaders did not believe Trump was "determined" to force a U.S.acquisition of the world's largest island, Kofod said.
Rather, the Danish government saw the proposal as a means to foster more U.S.engagement in and influence over Greenland.Nearly seven years later, Kofod's successors -- again under the leadership of Frederiksen -- have faced a more protracted and aggressive campaign from Washington.
Trump has repeatedly said the U.S.will acquire Greenland -- "one way or another," he said earlier this month.Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Trump's second term has seen the ...