Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade said Monday that Greenland would cost about $1.5 trillion, after President-elect Trump said earlier this week that it was “absolutely necessary” for the United States to own Greenland. It was estimated that it could become a dollar amount.
“It’s going to cost about $1.5 trillion, but it’s probably going to pay for itself,” Kilmeade said on “Jesse Watters Prime Time” with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley. spoke.
When asked for comment on Kilmeade’s profile, a Fox News Media spokesperson directed The Hill to a 2019 report in The Washington Post. In its report, the newspaper looked at the potential costs for Greenland, with some estimates putting the country’s value at $1.7 trillion.
In a statement announcing his nominees for ambassador to Denmark on Sunday night’s Truth Social, President Trump escalated past comments in which he mused about the United States acquiring the autonomous territory of Greenland, which is part of Denmark.
“For the sake of national security and freedom around the world, the United States feels that ownership and control of Greenland is absolutely necessary,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Greenland’s prime minister said in a statement on Monday that the country was “not for sale,” as reported by the BBC and the Guardian.
“Why is he interested in Greenland?” Kilmeade asked Whatley about Trump at the beginning of the conversation.
“Well, I think from a national security perspective, as he said, it’s certainly a very mineral-rich place and a geopolitically important place for him,” Whatley responded. .
President Trump expressed interest in purchasing Greenland in 2019, but the idea was largely rejected by both Danish and Greenlandic experts and leaders.
Greenland, with a population of about 56,000, has the right to declare independence from Denmark, but relies on Copenhagen for most of its budget.
The island is rich in minerals, oil and natural gas, but is underdeveloped and fishing remains the mainstay of the economy, according to Reuters. It is also strategically important to the US military as the shortest route from Europe to North America.
Mr. Whatley also discussed President Trump’s recent comments threatening to take back the Panama Canal, which has been under Panama’s control since the early 2000s.
“Well, he feels right now that America is not being treated fairly,” the RNC chairman told Kilmeade.
“And if you think about the conversations that we’ve had with people in Canada, Mexico, and other people, you’ll see that there’s a very common theme: America is going to be treated fairly, and if we’re not, all over the world. We will have dialogue with several countries.”
This article was updated at 2:59 p.m.
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