President Donald Trump has called U.S. ownership of Greenland “an absolute necessity,” but the idea has been met with outright rejection from Greenlandic and Danish leaders.
That hasn’t stopped the Trump administration from exploring the possibility of putting a price tag on the world’s largest island, which comes as Trump has simultaneously called for Canada to become the 51st U.S. state and floated the idea of regaining control of the Panama Canal.
Newsweek contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark with roughly 56,000 residents, is home to the Thule Air Base, an important U.S. military installation, and holds valuable deposits of rare earth minerals, oil and natural gas. Trump has ramped up his rhetoric surrounding U.S. ownership, but the price tag of acquiring the island could be enormous, not only in economic terms, but also in political capital.