White House studying cost of Greenland takeover, long in Trump's sights

[highplainsdem]

Source: Washington Post

The White House is preparing an estimate of what it would cost the federal government to control Greenland as a territory, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, the most concrete effort yet to turn President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire the Danish island into actionable policy.

While Trump’s demands elicited international outrage and a rebuke from Denmark, White House officials have in recent weeks taken steps to determine the financial ramifications of Greenland becoming a U.S. territory, including the cost of providing government services for its 58,000 residents, the people said.

At the White House budget office, staff have sought to understand the potential cost to maintain Greenland if it were acquired, two of the people said. They are also attempting to estimate what revenue to the U.S. Treasury could be gained from Greenland’s natural resources.

One option under analysis is to offer a sweeter deal to the government of Greenland than the Danes, who currently subsidize services on the island at a rate of about $600 million every year.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/04/01/trump-greenland-us-territory-cost/

---

Delusional.

[Figarosmom]

1. This is crazy

And someone with authority has to put their foot down now.

[Initech]

2. It's completely bizarre that they are continuing to sane wash this madness.

This is "voices in head" level crazy.

[CANADIANBEAVER69]

9. It's a complete take over by the right.

I don't see anyone on the right who gives me the impression that they are willing to say anything against TSF. Moses Mike is gleefully giving up the power of Congress to TSF. I don't think there is enough time btw now and 2026 elections to stop the takeover. By then every agency will be wiped out and the rich will have everything they want, Control. If people get out into the streets, which I believe they want, then it's going to get bloody and people are going to end up being killed.

I really hope that I am wrong and the courts and military hold these traitors in check.

[Karasu]

11. Exactly this. Even if we do somehow still have fair elections by '26, I'm worried that we simply don't have enough

Last edited Tue Apr 1, 2025, 10:58 PM - Edit history (1)

considering how much chaos these fascists have caused in two fucking months.

[Lucky Luciano]

21. Voices in his head

?si=IIrsJ_jTiMdXq2S2

[Galraedia]

3. Between this and Donny Dipshit's $4.5 trillion dollar tax cut for the rich how are republicans going to pay off the debt

that they're largely responsible for creating?

[riversedge]

7. The repug plan is to pass off the costs to consumers.

[C Moon]

29. Keep your eye on Florida: child labor

[wcmagumba]

4. I hope Denmark and the EU are preparing for war with the US....

trump is crazy for pulling this bs....

[slightlv]

6. Your thinking is exactly where I'm at!

Donny doesn't get to walk in and take over another country as his own, just because he wants to do it. I'm sorry. That's unmitigated first-attack warfare. NOT IN MY NAME!

[Marcuse]

18. Denmark will invoke Article 5 of the NATO Treaty. Trump would have to veto, ignore or withdraw

[C Moon]

30. They'd better move fast, because trump and elon will just do it without hestitation.

[Dave Bowman]

5. Europe won't stand for this. Hell, the world won't stand for this.

This weirdo believes in magic thinking, what he wants he gets. Wake up, idiot, we won't bend to your childish will.

[Solly Mack]

8. This isn't normal or right or inevitable no matter how hard they work to make it seem so.

I do not accept this. I do not support this.

[kimbutgar]

10. I could envision seeing him sending troops and when they arrive

Soldiers from Denmark, Holland, Norway and a bunch of EU nations ready to battle the US!

Will it start WWW3 where the Us are villains now?

[Justice matters.]

25. Kind of vilains since at least Vietnam...

Reign in the mic...ceos...

[Blues Heron]

12. It would be an act of war that could spark WWIII and get us all nuked

Just planning it could get get us preemptively attacked.

[BigDemVoter]

13. Do they still not get that it is NOT for sale?

[Justice matters.]

26. The felon in chief is a conman... unpunished.

IOW, a lifelong thief.

[LudwigPastorius]

14. We need White House estimates on other imaginary things.

Do "who would win a fight between Batman and Godzilla" next!

Or, "how much would it cost to make a gold plated X-wing fighter".

[lonely bird]

15. Welp

Fuck each and every one in this maladministration.

[Bayard]

16. BUT---

Oligarchs won't be happy if they don't get our Social Security/Medicaid/Medicare when it goes for WWIII instead of to them!

[tanyev]

17. And let me guess, they want to stop giving anything to Puerto Rico

or other current U.S. territories.

[Prairie Gates]

19. WaPo reporting this as straight news is ... well ... wow

The paper and its journalists have completely lost their bearings.

Then again, pretty much every news outlet is reporting on the emerging gulag archipelago made up of US and foreign prisons as if it is some ho-hum straight policy issue, so we are utterly at sea.

[C Moon]

20. Why is he even permitted to talk about this?

[HeartsCanHope]

22. First of all we signed a treaty when we bought the U.S. Virgin Islands that says Greenland belongs to Denmark.

MayReasonRule posted this March 27, 2025:
https://democraticunderground.com/10143427306
So we have NO claim to Greenland, period. Trump had better not order our young men and women to take up arms against Denmark and Greenland. I am sick of Trump spouting this nonsense. He's trying to distract everyone from his 2 month old administration's screw-ups! The Greenlanders are NEVER going to accept a deal to belong to the US. We saw what they did to Vance and his wife. I wouldn't be surprised if they kick out our base!

[IcyPeas]

23. What does this sentence highlighted in yellow mean?:

What government services?

While Trump’s demands elicited international outrage and a rebuke from Denmark, White House officials have in recent weeks taken steps to determine the financial ramifications of Greenland becoming a U.S. territory, including the cost of providing government services for its 58,000 residents, the people said.

[Justice matters.]

27. Free healthcare from the Dane gov.

Paid leave for a year and six weeks paid vacations per year.

Denmark ranks number one on the Happiest People on Earth charts...

[AZJonnie]

31. I lol'd at the part about giving Greenlanders a 'better deal' than the Danes

Pffftt. A 'better deal'

Any agreement the convicted felon (and adjudicated fraudster and rapist) makes he will fucking welch on, and EVERYONE in the WORLD knows it. Just ask Canada and Mexico how he adheres to the trade agreements he takes credit for making in his first term. Ask PR how it fared under the Trump admin after a hurricane wiped out their infrastructure. Hell, ask his knuckle-dragging cult about the time he raised $250M from them to 'Stop the Steal' and then spent less than $17M in legal fees for the whole (entirely FAILING) endeavor. Actually don't bother asking them, because Fox hasn't told 'em about it yet, so it must not have happened

Under Diaper Donnie, the US doesn't have the stature in the world to make any such deals right now, nobody outside MAGA-world will trust anything this pathological liar and sociopath puts his pen to. Especially not any country that isn't either run by a fascist or in absolutely dire financial straits.

[Hekate]

24. This is insane

[AntiFascist]

28. Send Musk to help persuade them (hehe) n/t

[Blues Heron]

32. Long in his sights but we only heard about it in January? How long exactly has this demented freak planned this war?

This is an act of war that could seriously backfire on us

[TomWilm]

33. Such ignorant BS about Iceland and Greenland

From the article: "... We only have one location where we can monitor what goes on in the North Atlantic, and that’s Iceland. Greenland would give you that plus shipping routes with the polar ice caps receding — that’s a more strategic location,” said Doug Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a center-right think tank. ..."

There is now again an US base on Iceland. There is also US bases on Greenland, where by Danish agreement almost anything could be build. Both bases only hosts some hundreds of military staff - so WTF are they yelling about???

[bmichaelh]

34. Trump lacks originality of thought

Trump lacks any originality of thought.

He wants these countries because that is what Putin does.

He may have not even originated the saying: Make America Great Again.

In the 2008 episode "E Pluribus Wiggum" of The Simpsons, Ralph Wiggum runs for President and says "Make this country great again".

[ananda]

35. Any bets on whether they would actually make the payments...

and not just offer more?

[alarimer]

36. They do this and I would totally be on Greenland's side

I will absolutely aid Canada/Greenland or whatever country in any way possible even if that might technically make me a traitor.

I am not sure what we can do to stop this, besides getting in the streets.

[bmichaelh]

37. One forgotten cost

I expect one cost not factored in is healthcare.

According to Wikipedia:

The healthcare system in Greenland is a publicly financed governmental responsibility managed by the Agency for Health and Prevention.

Greenlanders would not want our for profit healthcare system.
Higher prescription drugs
Insurers deciding what treatment they will or not pay for.
Etc.

[Paladin]

38. Complete and utter LUNACY.

If we're just going to pull a random nation out of our asses to acquire for hundreds of millions of dollars---hopefully without starting a shooting war in the process---let's approach Cuba instead. At least the food, music, weather and cigars are good...