Secretary of State Blinken: America controlling Greenland "will not happen"

During a press conference in Paris on the afternoon of August 8, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while on a trip to France, was asked by a reporter about then-President Donald Trump's apparent interest in purchasing Greenland. Blinken said that what Trump wants "is not going to happen."

Speaking during a press conference in Paris on August 8, Blinken was asked "whether he wanted to comment on [then-President Trump's] plan to buy Greenland." "I didn't know he had a plan. I've seen that report," Blinken replied. "It's obviously not a good idea, but, more important, it's also not going to happen, in my view." He added that "we shouldn't spend a lot of time on it."

Trump, during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, on August 7, said: "I was talking about Greenland. I said we should buy it. So I asked [Secretary of State Mike Pompeo] about it." Asked what prompted him to suggest purchasing Greenland, Trump said: "I said, 'I like the idea of having it under our control.' It's right near us."

Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Danish Realm between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. It is located to the northeast of the North American continent, directly north of Canada, and is bordered on its east by Iceland. Greenland is the world's largest island, and the least populated country in North America. Greenland is highly autonomous and has control over most matters except foreign affairs, defense security, and monetary policy, which are under Danish control.

Greenland also has large reserves of rare earth minerals and many believe that climate change could eventually open up the Arctic Ocean for navigation.