A Danish Member of European Parliament (MEP) seethed at U.S. President Donald Trump amid his bid to have Greenland sold or ceded to the United States.
MEP Anders Vistisen, a member of the right-wing Danish People’s Party, addressed Trump’s efforts at an EU session in Strasburg, France.
‘Dear President Trump, listen very carefully: Greenland has been part of the Danish kingdom for 800 years. It is an integrated part of our country. It is not for sale,’ Vistisen said.
Appearing to cue into the American president’s occasional salty language, Vistisen said he would put his remarks in ‘words you might understand.’
‘Mr. Trump, f— off,’ said Vistisen. The remark drew a formal reprimand from European Parliament Vice President Nicolae Ștefănuță, who, however, suggested he too has reservations about Trump.
‘If the translation was correct, the term you used is not allowed in this House, and there will be consequences to the message you have used,’ said Ștefănuță, who represents Romania.
‘It is not OK in this House of Democracy. Regardless of what we think of Mr. Trump, it is not possible to use such language.’
First son Donald Trump Jr. led a small delegation to Nuuk — the Greenlandic capital — prior to the inauguration and met with members of the public and reportedly held a luncheon.
Both Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen have said the landmass is not for sale.
The island enjoys relative autonomy in domestic affairs and relies on Copenhagen for foreign policy and support.
The U.S. does, however, retain a U.S. Space Force presence on Greenland — at Pituffik (formerly Thule) Air Base near Savissivik.
Just over 100 years ago, the U.S. did successfully purchase Danish lands from Copenhagen.
King Christian X of Denmark and the U.S. Senate both ratified a 1916 treaty that led to the purchase of what are now the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) — St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix. Then-President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, approved the treaty.
Wilson’s Secretary of State Frank Polk said the island chain’s people would have American nationality but not the ‘political status of citizens,’ according to the State Department’s archives.
Residents were, however, later given full citizenship through a 1932 act of Congress.
With its roots as the Danish West Indies and originally home to British expatriates, it is also the only U.S. territory where driving on the left side of the road is the law.