President Donald Trump is reportedly interested in buying the world's biggest island for the United States — the ice-covered Danish territory of Greenland.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the former real estate mogul has brought up the idea to advisers, with "varying degrees of seriousness," at meetings, dinners, and in passing conversations, asking them if the U.S. can acquire Greenland.
He has even asked his White House counsel to check it out, the Journal reported, citing two unnamed sources.
The fascination has gotten mixed reviews: Some advisers think it is a good economic play, others dismiss it as a fascination that will fade, the Journal reported.
Plus, no one is quite sure if you can even buy Greenland.
With a population of about 56,000, it is a self-ruling part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with Copenhagan deciding most domestic matters, foreign and security policy.
Trump is not the first U.S. official to pitch the idea.
Following World War II, President Harry Truman developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland and in 1946 offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100 million, the Journal reported. Denmark refused to sell.
The State Department also launched an inquiry into buying Greenland and Iceland in 1867, the Journal reported.
Kenneth Mortensen, a real-estate agent in Nuuk, Greenland's capital, told the Journal the running joke in Greenland is Trump is traveling to Denmark early next month with the sole intention of buying their island.
"You can never own land here," he cautioned, since all land is owned by the government. "In Greenland, you get a right to use the land where you want to build a house, but you can't buy."
"Of course, buying Greenland is a different issue altogether," he told the Journal. "I'm not sure about that."
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