President Donald Trump is defending his decision to send a delegation to Greenland once again — but the Greenlandic government put out a statement smacking down his reasoning.
With an administration party including Second Lady Usha Vance set to visit the island territory, Trump told reporters that “People from Greenland are asking us to go there,” and that "officials" from Greenland requested the visit, according to Politico.
But that's not true, the Greenlandic government said Monday evening in a Facebook post.
"Just for the record, Naalakkersuisut, the government of Greenland, has not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official," said the statement. "The present government is a caretaker government awaiting the formation of a new government coalition and we have kindly requested all countries to respect this process."
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Trump, who similarly sent a delegation led by his son shortly before taking office, has fixated on the United States purchasing Greenland from the Kingdom of Denmark, which currently owns the island as an autonomous type of colony it has progressively granted more and more home rule over the last few decades.
U.S. interest in buying Greenland dates to the 19th century, as the island is rich in natural resources and has a prime location for military reconnaissance in the Arctic.
These ambitions were mostly tamped down after the formation of the NATO alliance, which put the U.S. and Denmark into a mutual defense pact and effectively gave America access to the island anyway. Trump, however, has routinely disparaged the value of NATO, and appears persistent on acquiring Greenland as a U.S. territory regardless of the geopolitical implications.
Denmark has made clear it is not interested in selling the island. And while there is a burgeoning independence movement in Greenland, even most of those in that camp are not truly interested in becoming part of the United States.