Trump Calls Comments by Danish Leader 'Nasty'

President Donald Trump does not appreciate Denmark's rejection of his idea to buy Greenland.

The American leader told reporters on Wednesday that "all they had to say was, 'No, we'd rather not do that.'"

Instead, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the idea "an absurd discussion" and said she was "disappointed and surprised" that Trump canceled his Sept. 2-3 visit to Denmark in a tweet earlier in the day.

Trump, leaving the White House for an event in Kentucky, said Frederiksen's comments were "nasty," adding "You don't talk to the United States like that," at least during his presidency.

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

Fredericksen said the U.S. remains one of Denmark's close allies. Denmark's royals had invited Trump but the palace says they were blindsided by the tweet canceling the trip.

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The prime minister of Denmark says she is "disappointed and surprised" by U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to cancel his visit to Denmark after she called Trump's idea of buying Greenland, Denmark's semi-autonomous Arctic territory, "an absurd discussion."

Trump, who was scheduled to visit Denmark on Sept. 2-3 as part of a European tour, tweeted his decision early Wednesday. The cancellation stunned Danes and blindsided the Danish royal palace, with spokeswoman Lene Balleby telling The Associated Press it came as "a surprise" to the royal household, which had formally invited Trump.

"Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen's comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time," Trump said.

The vast island of Greenland sits between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, has a population of 56,000 and has 80% of its land mass covered by a 1.7 million-square-kilometer (660,000 square-mile) ice sheet.