Trump kicks around idea of buying Greenland for US

By Zeke Miller and Matthew Lee The Associated Press

5 years ago

A cross sits on the side of the road as fog covers homes in Kulusuk, Greenland, early Thursday, ... — A cross sits on the side of the road as fog covers homes in Kulusuk, Greenland, early Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019. Greenland has been melting faster in the last decade and this summer, it has seen two of the biggest melts on record since 2012. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

In this photo taken on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2019, icebergs are photographed from the window of an airplane carrying NASA Scientists as they fly on a mission to track melting ice in eastern Greenland. Greenland has been melting faster in the last decade and this summer, it has seen two of the biggest melts on record since 2012. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, en route to a campaign rally in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON — Aiming to put his mark on the world map, President Donald Trump has talked to aides and allies about buying Greenland for the U.S.

A Trump ally told The Associated Press on Thursday that the president had discussed the purchase but was not serious about it. And a Republican congressional aide said Trump brought up the notion of purchasing Greenland in conversations with lawmakers enough times to make them wonder, but they have not taken his comments seriously. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Still, it wouldn’t be the first time an American leader tried to buy the world’s largest island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

In 1946, the U.S. proposed to pay Denmark $100 million to buy Greenland after flirting with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for strategic parts of the Arctic island.

Neither the White House nor Denmark immediately commented Thursday. Trump is set to visit Denmark next month.

The story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.