How Denmark's Prime Minister Responded To Trump's Potential Purchase Of Greenland And What The Land Is Worth

After the recent revelation that President Trump is looking into how the U.S. might purchase Greenland from Denmark, Danish Prime Minister commented Sunday on the prospect, calling the notion “absurd.”

Greenland, considered the world's largest island, is a Danish territory that operates with autonomy, complete with its own leadership and government. It has a population of 56,000 people and is 836,000 square miles, with most of the country covered in ice. There has been scant discussion of Denmark ever selling Greenland.

“Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland belongs to Greenland,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen newspaper Sermitsiaq. “I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously.”

Frederiksen added that "thankfully" the days of buying and selling countries is over. She also said she hoped to have improved strategic relations with the U.S.

After talk began to spread about the matter, Trump confirmed to reporters Sunday that he had some interest in the U.S. purchasing Greenland and had directed the White House counsel to look into the possibility. Trump will visit Denmark in early September.

“We are good allies with Denmark, we protect Denmark like we protect large portions of the world, and the concept came up," Trump said Wednesday. “Strategically it's interesting, and we would be interested, but we will talk with them a little bit. It's not number one on the burner, I can tell you that.”

“Kim Kielsen has of course made it clear that Greenland is not for sale. That's where the conversation ends,” Frederiksen said, referring to the Greenland Premier.

Trump’s inquiries would not be the first time that the U.S. has pursued the purchase of Greenland. In 1946, it was rumored that President Harry Truman sought to buy it for $100 million, which would be equivalent to $1.3 billion in 2019.

Prior to that, in 1867, William Seward, the secretary of state for Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, expressed interest in acquiring the land for the U.S. This was the same year that Seward famously negotiated the acquisition of Alaska from Russia.

Greenland's GDP in 2016 was $2.7 billion. The Washington Post recently ranged Greenland's worth between $200 million and $1.7 trillion, along with a middle estimate of $42.6 billion.