Remember when news broke that President Trump was seriously considering putting together an offer to buy Greenland?
"It's just something we've talked about. Denmark essentially owns it. We're very good allies with Denmark. We've protected Denmark like we protect large portions of the world, so the concept came up," President Trump said in August. "Strategically, it's interesting. And, we'd be interested. We'll talk to them a little bit."
Denmark rejected the idea, prompting President Trump to cancel a previously planned NATO meeting with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
....The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019
But while the relationship may have cooled over the past few months, Denmark recently allowed the United States to establish a consulate on the island.
"Denmark has approved the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Greenland, an autonomous part of Denmark, four months after rebuffing U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of buying the island which stunned Copenhagen and caused a diplomatic spat," Reuters reports. "A new consulate is part of a broader move by Washington to expand its diplomatic and commercial presence in Greenland and the Arctic."
“We continue, together with Greenland, the dialogue with the United States about development in the Arctic and the close cooperation on U.S. engagement in Greenland,” Denmark Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod told the news outlet.
Not all hope is lost.
Joking aside, sovereignty over Greenland should be taken seriously with the Chinese and Russians asserting dominance in the region.