Think that President-elect Donald Trump talking about acquiring Greenland is just that — idle talk?
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman doesn’t — and surprisingly, he’s not freaking out about it.
Fetterman, in an appearance on Fox News Tuesday night, said that he thought there might be a “responsible conversation” to have about the idea of acquiring the sparsely populated Danish possession.
Trump has said on social media that “control of Greenland is an absolute necessity” for the United States in the run-up to his inauguration. On Tuesday, Donald Trump Jr. made a visit to the island, adding to speculation regarding what the Trump administration might be cooking up in regards to the country.
And, at least in Fetterman’s case, he’s willing to listen.
“There’s a lot of talk about Greenland, for example, and there’s a lot of freak-outs, and of course, I would never support taking it by force,” Fetterman said.
“But, I do think it’s a responsible conversation if they were open to acquiring it, you know, whether just buying it outright.
“If anyone thinks that’s bonkers, it’s like, well, remember the Louisiana Purchase,” Fetterman added.
“I think Alaska was a pretty great deal, too, $50 million I think it was. It was referred to as Seward’s Folly.”
NEW: Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) dismisses Democratic “freakouts” over Trump’s proposal to acquire Greenland.
“It’s a responsible conversation […] Remember the Louisiana Purchase? I think Alaska was a pretty great deal, too.”
“I mean – [I’m] open to having all kinds of… pic.twitter.com/QmSQzxMoOv
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 8, 2025
“Some things might work out; some may not,” Fetterman added.
The reaction to this on social media was that Fetterman was playing conservatives to get GOP votes in a state that’s turning increasingly Republican:
I listened to him an hour ago – this is campaign material for 2026 Senate races.
— IrishIyer (@realIrishIyer) January 8, 2025
Fetterman knows he needs center-right votes in next Senate election so he’s playing the game.
He will continue to vote with Democrats 95%+ of the time.
Conservatives have been so abused they get giddy over this act.
— Publius (@OcrazioCornPop) January 8, 2025
However, for those who think that this is all an act, consider the fact that — unlike with his talk about Canada being the “51st state” — Trump’s talk on Greenland is being taken seriously in conservative quarters, too.
Nobody wants to be responsible for America’s dysfunctional hat, after all. Consider that this comes as Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede has been talking about independence from Denmark and a rethink in terms of who its allies will be.
“It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with, and who our trading partners will be,” Egede said during his New Year’s Day remarks, according to Reuters. “It is about time that we ourselves take a step and shape our future, also with regard to who we will cooperate closely with and who our trading partners will be.”
“The history and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark has not succeeded in creating full equality,” he added.
“It is now time for our country to take the next step. Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation — which we can describe as the shackles of colonialism — and move forward.”
Furthermore, as Dan McLaughlin noted at National Review, the United States has been discussing the acquisition of Greenland since 1868, one year after “Seward’s folly.”
“In considering the future of Greenland, we cannot confine ourselves entirely to materialistic considerations. Nations have other resources besides those which figures can express to us by statistical tables. If a country has in it the means of developing man in any way, physically or mentally, it may be said to be rich to that extent,” a report by the State Department, commissioned by Seward, read.
“Even if we had no hope of finding there a place for settlement or new roads to profit, there are still strong reasons why civilization should strive to reach and explore them. They possess, as it were, the key to many problems of science, and the answer to many questions which are at present discussed by geographers.
“Certainly, new truths are as precious acquisitions as new mines or new fishing grounds, and a country which has supplied them has enriched the world as much as one which sends us the means of indulging our tastes or satisfying our appetites.”
Should the U.S. acquire Greenland?
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While this all might not mean that Greenland is for sale, keep in mind that it’s a far more natural fit for an alliance with those geographically close to it in North America — and considering that Canada and Mexico both have problems of their own to sort out, the United States would seem like the most obvious choice, particularly with a president willing to pursue it.
Even Fetterman can see that’s not “bonkers” to have a discussion about. We’ve done it before; we can do it again — and it could be mutually beneficial, particularly for a country looking to shake off its colonial past and which would get a far better deal from the United States and the Trump administration than it’s getting from Denmark. Perhaps it doesn’t involve a straight-up buyout, but it’s something America ought to be talking about.
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