COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Latest on U.S. President Donald Trump and his desire to buy the Arctic territory of Greenland (all times local):

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.

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.

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. </s> Copenhagen: US President Donald Trump has cancelled a state visit to Denmark after the nation's Prime Minister Mette Fredriksen said Greenland was not for sale to the US. Trump's visit was scheduled on September 2, at the invitation of Denmark's Queen Margrethe II.

Trump tweeted on Tuesday: "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." Last week Trump had suggested that the US was interested in buying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

When Trump was asked on Sunday if he would consider trading a US territory for the island, he replied: "Well, a lot of things could be done." "Essentially it's a large real estate deal," he had said.

Danish politicians have launched a scathing critique of Trump for cancelling his visit to the Scandinavian country, Efe news reported. Many leading Danish politicians have taken to social media to criticise Trump's handling of the matter. "Trump lives on another planet.

Self-sufficient and disrespectful" Pernille Skipper, spokesperson for the Red-Green Alliance, tweeted. Former Prime Minister Helle Thorning also shared her bemusement over the issue.

"So the POTUS has cancelled his visit to Denmark because there was no interest in discussing selling Greenland. Is this some sort of joke? Deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark," she tweeted.

The opposition also shared its disbelief over the spat with the vice president of the liberal Venstre Party and former foreign affairs minister, Kristian Jensen, labelling it a diplomatic crisis.

"Total chaos with Donald Trump and cancellation of the state visit to Denmark. It has gone from a great opportunity for enhanced dialogue between allies to a diplomatic crisis.

Everyone should know that Greenland is not for sale," Jensen said. "Need to get the cooperation back on track," he added. Rasmus Jarlov, conservative spokesman for Greenland affairs, like many others, said Trump's actions were insulting.

"As a Dane (and a conservative) it is very hard to believe. For no reason Trump assumes that (an autonomous) part of our country is for sale. Then insultingly cancels visit that everybody was preparing for. </s> President Donald Trump walks to Marine One after speaking with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019, in Washington. Trump is headed to Kentucky. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Latest on U.S. President Donald Trump and his desire to buy the Arctic territory of Greenland (all times local):

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.

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.

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. </s> The Danish government expressed shock and disbelief on Wednesday over U.S. President Donald Trump's cancellation of a state visit to Denmark after its prime minister rebuffed his interest in purchasing Greenland.

Trump's proposal at first elicited incredulity and humour from politicians in Denmark, a NATO ally of the United States, with former premier Lars Lokke Rasmussen saying: "It must be an April Fool's Day joke."

But the mood turned to shock when Trump called off the Sept. 2-3 visit after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called his idea of the United States buying Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, "absurd."

"Total chaos with @realDonaldTrump and cancellation of state visit to Denmark. It has gone from a big opportunity for strengthened dialogue between allies to a diplomatic crisis," former foreign minister Kristian Jensen, a member of the opposition Liberal Party, said on Twitter.

"Everyone should know Greenland is not for sale," Jensen said of the world's largest island, which has considerable mineral wealth and a U.S. military presence at the Thule Air Base under a U.S.-Danish treaty dating to 1951.

Frederiksen, who had been due to hold talks with Trump in Copenhagen, was unavailable for a comment as she was travelling after a visit to Greenland and Iceland earlier this week.

She said at the time that Greenland was "not for sale" and she hoped Trump's proposal was "not meant seriously."

Martin Lidegaard, a former foreign minister, told broadcaster TV2 it was "a diplomatic farce," and Trump's behaviour was "grotesque" and he was "throwing a hissy fit."

"It is very, very shocking, when it is about a very close ally and a good friend," Soren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesperson for the hard right Danish People's Party, told Danish news agency Ritzau.

He described Trump's cancellation as an offence to Queen Margrethe, Denmark's head of state, and said he did not expect another visit by the U.S. president would happen.

Trump and his wife Melania Trump were formally invited to Denmark by Queen Margrethe in July.

"It shows why we now more than ever should consider [fellow] European Union countries as our closest allies. The man is unpredictable," said Morten Ostergaard, leader of the Danish Social Liberal Party. "Reality surpasses imagination."

Trump, whose "America First" policies have resulted in strained relations with the EU over trade and other issues, said Sunday that a U.S. purchase of Greenland would be "a large real estate deal," though not an immediate priority.

"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 tweeted on Tuesday.

Greenland, which is gaining attention from world powers including China, Russia and the U.S. due to its strategic location and mineral resources, is self-governing but depends on Denmark for economic support.

Aaja Chemnitz Larsen, a lawmaker from Greenland's Inuit Ataqatigiit opposition party, said she was not surprised at the cancellation, but it underlined the territory's importance.

"The U.S. is an interesting ally for Greenland, but we also wish for Greenland to remain in the union we have today," she told Reuters.

It's not the first time an American leader has expressed interest in buying the world's largest island.

In 1946, the U.S. proposed to pay Denmark $100 million to buy Greenland after flirting with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for strategic parts of the Arctic island. </s> From left, Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Prime Minister of Iceland Katrin Jakobsdottir arrive at Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, Tuesday Aug. 20, 2019, ahead of the Nordic Prime Ministers meeting. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two days after he said buying Greenland wasn’t a top priority, President Donald Trump canceled an upcoming trip to Denmark, which owns the mostly frozen island, after its prime minister dismissed the idea.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had called Trump’s musing about buying the Danish territory “an absurd discussion” after the former real estate mogul-turned-president began to talk up the idea.

Trump said Sunday that he was interested in such a deal for strategic purposes, but said a purchase was not a priority at this time. “It’s not No. 1 on the burner,” he told reporters.

Trump even joked about his proposal as it came in for ridicule, tweeting a doctored photo of a glistening Trump skyscraper looming over a small village in the Arctic territory.

“I promise not to do this to Greenland,” he joked Monday.

But on Tuesday, Trump abruptly canceled the visit, also by tweet.

Just a few hours earlier, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark tweeted that it was “ready for the POTUS @realDonaldTrump visit!” using an acronym for “President of the United States” along with Trump’s Twitter handle.

Trump wrote: “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.”

He added: “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!”

White House spokesman Judd Deere said later that the visit to Denmark has been canceled.

The White House announced in late July that Trump had accepted an invitation to visit Denmark’s Queen Margrethe and participate in a series of meetings, including with Frederiksen and business leaders.

The trip, set to begin at the end of August, includes a stop in Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II.

Trump is expected to go ahead with the Warsaw visit.

Asked about Greenland on Sunday as he prepared to return to Washington after a vacation week at his central New Jersey home, Trump said “strategically … it would be nice” to own the island.

He also suggested he might not visit Denmark at all, saying he didn’t think the previously announced trip had been “absolutely set in stone yet.”

Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. </s> DENMARK was left stunned yesterday by Donald Trump’s decision to postpone a state visit after the government told the US president its autonomous terri­tory Greenland was not for sale.

The Danish Royal House expressed “surprise” at Trump’s cancellation while commentators accused Trump of acting like a “colonial overlord.”

“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 tweeted on Tuesday.

“The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct.”

His comments came two days after Frederiksen had rejected the president’s proposal to possibly buy Greenland as “absurd.” The decision confirms just how interested he was in purchasing Greenland, an idea initially dismissed as a joke by some, but which the White House later insisted had a serious pur­pose because of its strategic location.

Denmark’s prime minister said yes­terday she was “annoyed and surprised” that US President Donald Trump post­poned a visit after her government said its territory Greenland was not for sale, but insisted their ties remained strong.

“I am both annoyed and surprised that the US president has cancelled a state visit,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters, adding: “Denmark and the US are not in crisis, the US is one of our closest allies.”

The territory has been essential to US defence since World War II.

The postponement has sparked strong reactions in Denmark.

“Reality transcends imagination... this man is unpredictable,” said Morten Ostergaard of the Social Liberal Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

“For no reason, Trump assumes that (an autonomous) part of our country is for sale. Then insultingly cancels visit that everybody was preparing for,” tweeted Rasmus Jarlov, a member of the opposition Conservative Party.

“Are parts of the US for sale? Alaska? Please show more respect.”

Marc Jacobsen, a Greenland specialist at the University of Copenhagen, said Trump was acting like “an ignorant co­lonial overlord.”

“Trump’s idea of purchasing Green­land is absurd, and it is absurd that he is now cancelling his state visit to Den­mark when he knows that there is no chance Greenland will become the 51st state of America,” he said.

Former US ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford wrote on Twitter: “He asks for an invitation from a great friend and ally. The Queen obliges invites him for a state visit. He declares the visit contin­gent on the great friend selling part of its territory to him This. Is. Not. Normal.”

“Mette Frederiksen has been given the opportunity to emphasize that Green­land’s big affairs are in fact decided in Copenhagen... strengthening Denmark’s position in this great strategic game at stake over the Arctic,” it said.

Trump, a former real estate magnate, has been curious about the area’s natu­ral resources and geopolitical relevance, The Wall Street Journal said. </s> After Denmark prime minister's comment, US President Donald Trump said that he scrapped his trip to Denmark

Escalating an international spat, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he scrapped his trip to Denmark because the prime minister made a "nasty" statement when she rejected his idea to buy Greenland as an absurdity. (Photo: File)

Copenhagen: Escalating an international spat, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he scrapped his trip to Denmark because the prime minister made a "nasty" statement when she rejected his idea to buy Greenland as an absurdity.

"You don't talk to the United States that way, at least under me," Trump told reporters in Washington. "I thought it was not a nice statement, the way she blew me off."

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the whole thing "an absurd discussion" and said she was "disappointed and surprised" that Trump had cancelled his visit.

Trump said Frederiksen's comment labelling his idea as absurd "was nasty. I thought it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to say was say, 'No, we wouldn't be interested.'"

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of the US ally, and Frederiksen said the US remains one of Denmark's close allies. The political brouhaha over the world's largest island comes from its strategic location in the Arctic. Global warming is making Greenland more accessible to potential oil and mineral resources.

Russia, China, the US, Canada and other countries are racing to stake as strong a claim as they can to Arctic lands, hoping they will yield future riches. Trump was scheduled to visit Denmark on Sept. 2-3 as part of a European tour. But early Wednesday, he tweeted his decision to indefinitely postpone the trip. The move stunned Danes and blindsided the Danish royal palace.

Spokeswoman Lene Balleby told The Associated Press that 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 per cent of its land mass covered by a 1.7 million-square-kilometer (660,000 square-mile) ice sheet.

For all of Greenland's appeal, scientists consider it the canary in the coal mine for climate change and say its massive ice sheet has seen one of its biggest melts on record this summer, contributing to a global rise in sea levels. Frederiksen said she is standing behind the government of Greenland.

"A discussion about a potential sale of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen and I fully stand behind that rejection," she told reporters in Copenhagen.

Frederiksen, who took office two months ago in a minority Social Democratic government, went on to say that diplomatic relations between Copenhagen and Washington "are not in any crisis in my opinion" despite Trump's canceled plans. "The invitation for a stronger strategic cooperation with the Americans in the Arctic is still open," Frederiksen said, adding "the United States is one of our closest allies." Others in Denmark were not as gracious.

Martin Lidegaard, a former Danish foreign minister, told broadcaster TV2 that it was "a diplomatic farce" and Trump's behaviour was "grotesque." Trump's cancellation was "deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark," former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt wrote on Twitter.

Claus Oxfeldt, chairman of Denmark's main police union, told Danish media that authorities had been busy planning the third visit by a sitting US president to the Scandinavian NATO member. "It has created great frustrations to have spent so much time preparing for a visit that is cancelled," Oxfeldt was quoted as saying. Ordinary Danes shook their heads at the news, with many calling Trump immature.

"He thinks he can just buy Greenland. He acts like an elephant in a china shop," said Pernille Iversen, a 41-year-old shopkeeper in Copenhagen. "This is an insult to (Queen) Margrethe, to Denmark," said Steen Gade, a 55-year-old road worker. In Greenland, Johannes Kyed, an employee with a mine company, told Denmark's TV2 channel that wanting to buy a country and its people is a relic of the past.

"This is not the way the world works today," Kyed said. The US ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands, was apparently not informed of Trump's decision ahead of time. Shortly before Trump cancelled the trip on Twitter, she sent a tweet saying "Denmark is ready for POTUS," using an acronym for "President of the United States" along with Trump's Twitter handle and a photo from Copenhagen's City Hall square, where a Dane had paid for two pro-Trump ads on giant electronic screens.

Trump said Sunday he was interested in buying Greenland for strategic purposes, but said a purchase was not a priority for his government at this time. Both Frederiksen and Greenland leader Kielsen responded that Greenland is not for sale.

"The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct," Trump said in the tweet on Wednesday. "I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!" Trump is still expected to visit nearby Poland beginning on August, 31. </s> WASHINGTON (AP) — Two days after he said buying Greenland wasn’t a top priority, President Donald Trump canceled an upcoming trip to Denmark, which owns the mostly frozen island, after its prime minister dismissed the idea.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen had called Trump’s musing about buying the Danish territory “an absurd discussion” after the former real estate mogul-turned-president began to talk up the idea.

Trump said Sunday that he was interested in such a deal for strategic purposes, but said a purchase was not a priority at this time. “It’s not No. 1 on the burner,” he told reporters.

Trump even joked about his proposal as it came in for ridicule, tweeting a doctored photo of a glistening Trump skyscraper looming over a small village in the Arctic territory.

“I promise not to do this to Greenland,” he joked Monday.

But on Tuesday, Trump abruptly canceled the visit, also by tweet.

Just a few hours earlier, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark tweeted that it was “ready for the POTUS @realDonaldTrump visit!” using an acronym for “President of the United States” along with Trump’s Twitter handle.

Trump wrote: “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.”

He added: “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!”

White House spokesman Judd Deere said later that the visit to Denmark has been canceled.

The White House announced in late July that Trump had accepted an invitation to visit Denmark’s Queen Margrethe and participate in a series of meetings, including with Frederiksen and business leaders.

The trip, set to begin at the end of August, includes a stop in Poland to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II.

Trump is expected to go ahead with the Warsaw visit.

Asked about Greenland on Sunday as he prepared to return to Washington after a vacation week at his central New Jersey home, Trump said “strategically … it would be nice” to own the island.

He also suggested he might not visit Denmark at all, saying he didn’t think the previously announced trip had been “absolutely set in stone yet.”

Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. </s> President Donald Trump canceled a state visit to Denmark after his offer to buy Greenland was met first with bemusement, then flat refusal. Anger followed, and even Queen Margrethe II was drawn into the fray.

Trump had been due to make his first visit to Denmark, a founding member of NATO and a U.S. ally in the Iraq war, on Sept. 2-3. A series of reports last week indicated he wanted to purchase Greenland, the world’s biggest island and site of a strategic American base. The territory is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, though it has extensive home rule.

A leading member of the Danish government bloc on Wednesday called Trump’s behavior “hopeless,” while a former prime minister said the decision was “deeply insulting” to Danes. The queen weighed in, noting through a spokeswoman that the U.S. president’s decision to snub her invitation in a tweet came as a surprise.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said later that an invitation to Trump for a state visit still stands. The cancellation was a matter for regret, she told reporters in Copenhagen. “I was looking forward to his visit.”

Their discussions were to have focused on the strategic importance of Greenland. It’s where the U.S. has its northernmost base, Thule, and the island’s location close to the natural resources in the Arctic has made it attractive to both Russia and China. Frederiksen’s predecessor, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said the debacle will require “enormous” work to repair trans-Atlantic relations.

The cancellation of the trip is a “diplomatic crisis,” said Kristian Jensen, a leading member of the opposition and a former finance minister. He hinted at the damage done to the post-World War II relationship with Denmark, which was among a handful of countries to follow the U.S. into the Iraq war.

Frederiksen had previously called the idea of buying Greenland absurd and said she hoped it was a joke. She made clear the island wasn’t for sale and that Denmark doesn’t have the authority to sell it in any case. Trump saved his response for Twitter.

“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 in a Twitter post on Tuesday night.

Trump still plans to travel to Poland from Aug. 31 to Sept. 2 for commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II. The U.S. leader has praised that nation for meeting a target for defense spending by NATO member nations and added 1,000 U.S. troops on the ground there. He also has touted a possible new military base for U.S. forces, known as “Fort Trump.”

Morten Ostergaard, the leader of the Social Liberals who form part of the government bloc, tweeted that “reality has surpassed fantasy. It cannot be that no one in the U.S. state department told Trump in advance” that buying Greenland isn’t an option. “This is pretty hopeless. And it shows why we more than ever need to regard the EU members as our closest allies. You cannot count on this man.”

Here’s what former Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt had to say:

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who used to be NATO secretary general and is another former Danish PM, also weighed in:

Martin Lidegaard, a member of the government bloc and a former foreign minister, called the affair a “diplomatic farce.”

Trump wrote that “the Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct. I thank her for that and look forward to rescheduling sometime in the future!”

Earlier this week, the president told reporters that buying Greenland would be “a large real estate deal” that could ease a financial burden on Denmark.

Frederiksen and other officials ruled out a sale.

“Greenland isn’t for sale, Greenland isn’t Danish, Greenland is Greenlandic,” Frederiksen said Sunday during a visit to the island, according to the local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “I keep trying to hope that this isn’t something that was seriously meant.”

However serious White House discussions of a sale might have been, the topic prompted jokes on both sides of the Atlantic after Trump’s interest was reported. He got into the act Monday night with a tweet showing an image of a golden Trump tower on an austere Greenland landscape. “I promise not to do this to Greenland,” Trump wrote.
U.S. President Donald Trump cancels his September state visit to Denmark because Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen says that she has no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland.