Former President Donald Trump is thinking about buying Greenland again. This is a big piece of land that belongs to Denmark. He first wanted to buy it in 2019, but nothing happened then. Now, right before starting his second term, he is looking at this idea again.
So, how much would it cost to buy Greenland? People compare it to when the U.S. bought Alaska from Russia in 1867. Alaska is a lot smaller at 586,412 square miles and cost $7.2 million at the time, which is about $153.5 million today. Greenland is bigger at 836,000 square miles, so some think it could cost around $230.25 million, which is 50% more than Alaska’s adjusted price.
Back in 1946, the U.S. wanted to buy Greenland for $100 million in gold, which would be more than $1.6 billion today. In 2021, Greenland’s economy was $3.24 billion. The U.S. also bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million in gold (around $616.2 million today) and the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803 for $15 million (about $418.8 million today).
However, we don’t know how much it would really cost to buy Greenland yet. It would need the approval of Congress to spend that money as per the U.S. Constitution.
In 2019, leaders from Greenland and Denmark said no to Trump’s idea. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen made it clear, saying, “Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic.” After that, Trump canceled his visit to Denmark.
Recently, Trump suggested he might use military or money pressure to persuade Denmark to sell Greenland, saying, “We need Greenland for national security purposes.” Greenland is home to a big U.S. military base and is part of Denmark, which is a strong U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO.
Prime Minister Frederiksen, in a recent interview, assured that the U.S. is Denmark’s “most important and closest ally” and expressed confidence that the U.S. would not use military or economic pressure to take Greenland.
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