
Trump Eyes a New Real-Estate Purchase: Greenland - alokrai
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-eyes-a-new-real-estate-purchase-greenland-11565904223?mod=rsswn
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umeshunni
Previous US attempts to buy Greenland:

\- President Harry Truman developed a geopolitical interest in Greenland and
in 1946 offered to buy Greenland from Denmark for $100 million. But Denmark
refused to sell.

\- The State Department launched an inquiry into buying Greenland and Iceland
in 1868. Here's a link to the published report -
[https://books.google.com/books?id=U9lIAAAAMAAJ&pg=PP13#v=one...](https://books.google.com/books?id=U9lIAAAAMAAJ&pg=PP13#v=onepage&q&f=false)

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yread
There was an interesting thread on Reddit about the 1868 inquiry:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/cd3jul/why_d...](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/cd3jul/why_did_the_us_purchase_of_iceland_and_greenland/)

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Someone
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlandic_independence#Moves...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenlandic_independence#Moves_towards_independence):

 _”As part of the self-rule law of 2009 (section §21), Greenland can declare
full independence if they wish to pursue it, but it would have to be approved
by a referendum among the Greenlandic people. A poll in 2016 showed that there
was a clear majority (64%) for full independence among the Greenlandic people,
but a poll in 2017 showed that there was a clear opposition (78%) if it meant
a fall in living standards.”_

⇒ Why try to buy it? Offer them to become a US state and invest there if they
vote to become independent, and see whether they bite.

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hirundo
A new state comes with new federal representatives and senators. With control
of congress balancing on a knife's edge, that makes statehood a huge political
football. One side or another will see an advantage in it, and the other side
will oppose it in force ... regardless of any other potential benefits.

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yorwba
See also: HN discussion on gwern's _" Why Didn’t Denmark Sell Greenland?"_ :
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20366039](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20366039)

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devoply
Sure for 100 billion-1 trillian dollars. It's at least worth as much as a
large startup. They should also drive up the price by letting other countries
like China and Russia bid on it.

It probably also has a bunch of resources on it, that will be accessible once
it melts. They should rename it Trumpland if the purchase happens.

~~~
gumby
For a price that low, Google should buy it. Finally a use for that cash
mountain.

~~~
devoply
Googlestan has a nice ring to it. Just buys its own country off the coast and
declares independence.

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hackbinary
I set my Facebook marketplace location as Nuuk Godthab to stop it alerting me
about junk that I didn't want.

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api
That'll be some nice beachfront property in 100 years at the rate we are
emitting CO2.

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Simulacra
I think it’s actually a really good idea. Strategically at least, it’s
possible that it could be done, but I think it would first need the approval
of everyone living there.

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coenhyde
I bet the reason Trump wants Greenland is for more claims to Arctic oil

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lidHanteyk
Is this Trump's Sudetenland?

