Donald Trump had a fiery phone call with Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen over his demands to buy Greenland, according to senior European officials.
Speaking to the Financial Times, officials said that Trump, then still president-elect, spoke with Frederiksen for 45 minutes last week, during which he was described to be aggressive and confrontational about Frederiksen’s refusal to sell Greenland to the US.
The Financial Times reports that according to five current and former senior European officials who were briefed on the call, the conversation “was horrendous”. One person said: “He was very firm. It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious and potentially very dangerous.”
Another person who was briefed on the call told the outlet: “The intent was very clear. They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode.” Someone else said: “The Danes are utterly freaked out by this.”
According to one former Danish official, the call was a “very tough conversation” in which Trump “threatened specific measures against Denmark such as targeted tariffs”.
Trump has previously said that the US needs to control Greenland and has refused to rule out using US military force to take over the territory. During a press conference a few weeks ago, Trump said that the US needed Greenland “for economic security”. The 836,300-sq-mile (2,166,007-sq-km) Arctic island is rich in oil and gas, as well as various raw materials for green technology.
Speaking to TV 2 earlier this month, Frederiksen said that the autonomous territory is “not for sale”, adding: “Seen through the eyes of the Danish government, Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
In 1953, Greenland became part of the kingdom of Denmark, and in 1979, home rule was introduced. Despite Denmark controlling Greenland’s foreign and security policy, Greenland has its own parliament.
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During his new year speech, Múte Egede, Greenland’s prime minister, said that he wanted Greenland to break free from “the shackles of colonialism”. Then, following a visit from Donald Trump Jr earlier this year, Egede said: “We are Greenlanders. We don’t want to be Americans. We don’t want to be Danish either. Greenland’s future will be decided by Greenland.”