'We’ll pay you more': White House reportedly preps cost estimate for Greenland takeover

President Donald Trump's White House is preparing a cost estimate for a potential takeover of Greenland, according to a report.

Three people with knowledge of the matter told The Washington Post that the White House took steps in recent weeks to attempt to determine the cost of Greenland becoming a U.S. territory. That includes how much the government would have to spend to provide services for its roughly 58,000 residents and how much it would cost to maintain should it be acquired, according to the report.

Additionally, the Trump administration is looking into any potential revenue that could be earned from the massive island's natural resources.

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Under consideration is having the U.S. try to offer Greenlandic people a better deal than Denmark, which subsidizes services at about $600 million a year, according to the report.

“This is a lot higher than that,” one official familiar with the plans told the Post. “The point is, ‘We’ll pay you more than Denmark does.’”

Trump has repeatedly vowed to take control of Greenland. In recent statements, he emphasized that the U.S. needs Greenland for national and international security, suggesting that the U.S. "will "go as far as we have to go" to gain control of the island.

Trump has not ruled out any means of acquiring the territory, including military force, though he has suggested it might not be necessary.

Greenland leaders have fiercely rejected the idea, asserting the island is not for sale and will determine its own future.