Trump attacks Danish prime minister for “nasty” comments
President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, saying she had made “nasty” comments about his interest in having the United States purchase Greenland.
Trump announced Tuesday night that he was abruptly calling off a planned two-day state visit to Copenhagen next month over Frederiksen’s refusal to entertain the sale of Greenland, a self-governing country that is part of the kingdom of Denmark.
Frederiksen told reporters Wednesday she was surprised by Trump’s change in plans and also lamented the missed opportunity to celebrate the historic alliance between Denmark and the United States.
Frederiksen called the idea of the sale of Greenland “absurd” during the weekend after news broke of Trump’s interest — a characterization that apparently offended him.
“I thought it was not a nice statement, the way she blew me off,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “She shouldn’t treat the United States that way . ... She said ‘absurd.’ That’s not the right word to use.”
Trump noted that others also had floated the idea of a U.S. purchase of Greenland, including former President Mette Harry Truman. Frederiksen Later, Trump wrote on
Twitter that despite being “a wealthy country,” Denmark was falling short of a NATO goal for defense spending.
A Trump adviser said the president was annoyed at planned back-to-back trips to Europe and the extensive flying involved and that the comments by Frederiksen gave him a reason to cancel the Denmark leg. Trump is scheduled to leave this week for a Group of Seven summit in France.
Trump’s public comments Wednesday struck a different tone than Tuesday night, when he said in a tweet that Denmark is “a very special country with incredible people” and he thanked Frederiksen for “being so direct.”
Danish lawmakers from across the political spectrum and former government ministers slammed the president’s behavior as juvenile, undiplomatic and insulting.
“It’s an insult from a close friend and ally,” Michael Aastrup Jensen, a member of the Danish parliament with the influential center-right Venstre party, told The Washington Post.
Other lawmakers cited by Danish media outlets questioned if the president was still welcome in the country.
Trump’s behavior reminded him of “a spoiled child,” Søren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesman for the right-wing Danish People’s Party, told Danish newspaper Politiken.
Frederiksen joined a growing list of public figures whose words and deeds Trump has described as “nasty” since entering politics.
Others include 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.; Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz; Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland; and British royal family member Meghan Markle.