
President Donald Trump had a tense phone call with Danish Prime Minister Matt Fredriksen that lasted about 45 minutes last week. The Financial Times reported that the call was terrifying because Trump was so strong on his will. “He was very strong. It was a cold shower, before that, it was hard to take him seriously. But I think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous,” the FT quoted an official as saying. . He said that overall the conversation was very poor.
“The intent was very clear. They want it. Danes are now in crisis mode,” one person briefed on the call said. Another said: “The Danes are absolutely freaked out by this.”
A former Danish official told the Financial Times: “It was a very difficult conversation. He threatened specific measures against Denmark, such as targeted tariffs.
The FT contacted the Danish prime minister’s office which refused to “accept the interpretation of the conversation given by the anonymous source”.
Trump’s first statement on Greenland after becoming president
After his election victory, Trump made his intentions clear about Greenland, Panama and Canada. On his first day in office, he said Denmark would come along on a possible sale of Greenland to the United States. “Greenland is a wonderful place. We need fair, international security, and I’m sure Denmark will come along. I think – it’s costing them a lot of money to maintain it, to maintain it. Yes,” Trump said.
Greenland is an autonomous territory controlled by Denmark with a population of over 56,000.
“The Greenlanders are not happy with Denmark, you know. I think they are happy with us. We had representatives, my son and the representatives went there two weeks ago and they like us so we’ll see. “Whatever happens, Greenland is important, not to us, it’s important to international security,” Trump said.
What the Prime Minister of Greenland said
Greenland’s Prime Minister Mutt Agade said that Greenlanders do not want to become Americans. We don’t even want to be Danish. Greenland will decide the future of Greenland. Our country and our people will decide what happens to Greenland,” the prime minister said, adding that he was open to talks with Washington to protect US interests in the Arctic.