After Denmark's PM calls buying Greenland 'absurd,' Trump calls her comment 'nasty'

Denmark's prime minister has called Trump's idea of buying Greenland "absurd."

August 21, 2019, 3:35 PM

President Donald Trump on Wednesday hit back at Denmark's prime minister for calling his idea about the U.S. buying Greenland "absurd," blasting her comment as "nasty" and accusing her of "blowing off the United States."

Trump spoke after abruptly cancelling his planned visit to Denmark via Twitter Tuesday night.

"I looked forward to going but I thought the prime minister's statement that it was 'absurd,' that it was an absurd idea, was nasty," he told reporters as lef the White House for a trip to Kentucky. "I thought it was an inappropriate statement. All she had to do was say, 'No, we're not interested.'"

He said the prime minister spoke "in a very sarcastic, nasty way."

"Don't say what an absurd idea that is," Trump said. "She's not talking to me, she's talking to the United States of America."

He said they would still meet sometime in the future, though.

"We'll do it another time," he said.

Trump mentioned Harry Truman as having the same idea, saying it's been talked about "for years." Trump said, for him, it was "just an idea, just a thought."

"I thought it was not a nice statement, the way she blew me off, because she was blowing off the United States," Trump said.

Earlier Wednesday, Denmark's prime minister said she was "disappointed and surprised" that Trump had called off his visit.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the president could still come, though, telling reporters in the capital, Copenhagen, that "the invitation for a stronger strategic cooperation with the Americans in the Arctic is still open," the Associated Press reported.

PHOTO: Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen talks to the press after President Donald Trump cancelled his state visit after her government said its territory Greenland was not for sale, Aug. 21, 2019, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen talks to the press after President Donald Trump cancelled his state visit after her government said its territory Greenland was not for sale, Aug. 21, 2019, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Mads Claus Rasmussen/AFP/Getty Images

The White House had said that Trump would travel to Denmark and Poland over the Labor Day weekend, but Trump wrote in a tweet Tuesday night that he would postpone the Denmark leg after Frederiksen dismissed his suggestion that the United States was interested in purchasing Greenland.

PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House in Washington, Aug. 21, 2019.
President Donald Trump speaks to the media as he departs the White House in Washington, Aug. 21, 2019.
Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

"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," Trump tweeted.

Frederiksen had rejected the possibility of selling Greenland to the United States as "an absurd discussion," according to the Associated Press. Greenland is a autonomous territory of Denmark.

The prime minister on Wednesday again rejected the idea of selling Greenland and said the issue should not serve as a distraction.

"This does not change the character of our good relations, and we will, of course, from Denmark, continue our ongoing dialogue with the U.S. on how we can develop our cooperation and deal with the many common challenges we are facing," Frederiksen said.

PHOTO: The town of Upernavik in western Greenland, July 11, 2015.
The town of Upernavik in western Greenland, July 11, 2015.
Linda Kastrup/AP, FILE

Trump was slated to meet with Denmark's queen during his trip, and on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Danish royal household told ABC News the household was "surprised" by the trip cancellation. The spokesperson would not comment further.

It seems that the cancellation took the U.S. ambassador in Copenhagen by surprise, too. Just hours before Trump's tweet, Ambassador Carla Sands tweeted, "Denmark is ready for the POTUS @realDonaldTrump‬⁩ visit!"

Sands later followed up in a second tweet Wednesday to say Trump "values and respects" Denmark and "looks forward to a visit in the future."

The State Department referred questions about the cancellation to the White House, but defended Sands, saying her tweet "goes to show the strength of the relationship that our ambassador has with the government, and we continue to work together."

"I think it's sad, honestly, because this is just not the way you treat an ally," Rufus Gifford, who served as U.S. ambassador to Denmark during the Obama administration, told CNN. And to cancel the trip in this way is just a shame. It's absolutely a shame."

PHOTO: In this Aug. 15, 2019, photo, a boat navigates at night next to large icebergs in eastern Greenland. Greenland's ice has been melting for more than 20 years.
In this Aug. 15, 2019, photo, a boat navigates at night next to large icebergs in eastern Greenland. Greenland's ice has been melting for more than 20 years.
Felipe Dana/AP

Trump has cancelled overseas trips or stops before.

He nixed a trip to Davos, Switzerland, in January, citing the partial government shutdown in the U.S., and cancelled stops in Peru and Colombia in April 2018 to deal with a Syrian chemical weapons attack.

He also called off a planned trip to London to inaugurate a U.S. embassy complex in January 2018, saying he was unhappy with the Obama administration's sale of the previous embassy building. And he reportedly cancelled a stop at Israel's Masada in 2017 because he could not land a helicopter atop the mountain fortress.

ABC News' Guy Davies contributed reporting from London and Conor Finnegan from the State Department.

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