The US President’s attempt to buy Greenland and call off his Danish visit for being rebuffed is outrageous

US President Donald Trump has got away with making bewildering, puzzling and impossible statements by virtue of the high office he holds, giving his administration officials heartburn whether to treat them as an American sitcom joke or interpret them as layered diplomacy. For they simply cannot leave the words hanging there, especially when they impact relations between nations. Now that the world’s most important man has escalated an international spat, by calling off his trip to Denmark because its Prime Minister rejected his idea to buy Greenland as an absurdity, eggs are splattered all over their faces. One, Denmark is well within its rights to decide on Greenland, its semi-autonomous Arctic island with a 50,000 plus population, and air views on its territorial sovereignty whenever anybody tries to belittle it. And Trump is trying to grab it by standards of a defunct barter economy, proposing an outright land deal. But to be told off by the US President, who impetuously threatens a hitback with comments like “nasty” and “You don’t talk to the United States that way, at least under me,” can assume serious proportions, considering that Trump has not only upended conventions but has also followed through with his absurd statements with a fair bit of doggedness and whimsy. This has surprised Denmark all the more because it is a key partner in the North Atlantic alliance, and was among the first countries to pledge military support in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 40 Danish troops died in Helmand province, fighting alongside American and British soldiers. So it certainly doesn’t deserve this blow-off.

Of course, the world’s largest island comes with its strategic value in the Arctic region. Global warming and melting ice caps are making Greenland more accessible for harnessing potential oil and mineral resources. All the big powers — Russia, China, the US, Canada — are in a tussle to stake their claim on Arctic lands, hoping to own and leverage future riches. But would the US go so far with its Nordic conquest as to sink its perennial allies like the Titanic? Of course, the Washington Post reported that Trump had been peddling the idea for weeks and had “even discussed taking over Denmark’s annual $600 million subsidy to Greenland in perpetuity, and possibly tossing in an additional large payment to sweeten the deal.” Considering that the US already has a military base in Denmark, one fails to understand the urgency of land acquisition. For by cancelling his trip, he has upset the royal household, which had formally invited Trump. He has also upset climatologists and scientists who say Greenland’s massive ice sheet has seen one of its biggest melts on record this summer and economic exploitation would only worsen the scenario. Though this may not break down the cordial relations with the US yet, its Prime Minister assuring continuity despite the cancellation of Trump’s visit, Danes have been put off by what they call a “farcical” and “grotesque” behaviour. Some observers have also speculated that Trump was looking for a pretext to call off his visit considering his predecessor Barack Obama was also scheduled to visit the country and enjoys more popularity and the former didn’t want to appear dwarfed by comparison. But to go so far out, no matter what the strategic or personal intent, only makes the US fall from grace globally and its allies question the price of loyalty. For long, the US has been perceived as a global bully, can it afford to be more obnoxious now? Most importantly, nobody thought that Greenlanders should be asked what they want considering many wonder if Trump indeed remembered the location of Greenland from his geography lessons.