Trump wants to buy Greenland: Here’s how much it would cost the United States

Donald Trump renews his call for the US to buy the Danish autonomous territory of Greenland.

The president-elect originally floated the idea during his first term when discussing the prospect with his senior advisers in 2019. But he left office without taking any step towards acquiring the territory.

Now, with less than two weeks before he begins a second term, Trump is revisiting his idea — and his son Donald Trump Jr. traveled to Nuuk, Greenland, on Tuesday with other “representatives” of the incoming US president.

Several politicians, including Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, sent a clear message to Trump: “Greenland is not for sale.”

But if it were, how much would it cost the US?

Some have said that the best comparison is to look at the U.S. purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1967. Both Alaska and Greenland have cold, arctic climates, similarly sparse population densities, strategic geographic locations, and a wealth of oil reserves.

The US bought Alaska, which covers 586,412 square miles, for $7.2 million. In today’s dollars, that amounts to about $153.5 million.

At 836,000 square kilometers, Greenland is about 1.5 times the size of Alaska. So increasing that price by 50 percent would bring the total to about $230.25 million.

Another measure is to look at previous attempts or considerations to purchase Greenland.

In 1946, the US considered buying the Arctic island with $100 million worth of gold. That would amount to more than $1.6 billion today.

However, both calculations are close to what Greenland’s gross domestic product was, which was $3.24 billion in US dollars in 2021.

Looking at other land purchases from the past, the US bought the US Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917 for $25 million worth of gold, which would be about $616.2 million today.

And in 1803, the U.S. bought from France the vast Louisiana Purchase, which stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, for $15 million, which would be about $418.8 million today.

The general answer is that it is unclear how much Trump would have to take from the US Treasury if he wanted to continue buying Greenland.

And it is not immediately known whether Congress, no matter how friendly Trump is, will agree to his purchase proposal.

Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress would be required to approve the appropriation of funds for such acquisition of new land or areas.

After reports emerged in August 2019 of Trump weighing the purchase, several political leaders in Greenland and Denmark rejected the idea of ​​a sale, with some calling it “completely ridiculous” or a “joke.”

When it became clear that Trump was serious, Danish Prime Minister Frederiksen said: ‘Greenland is not for sale. Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic.’

Frederiksen’s comments led to Trump canceling his planned state visit to Denmark on August 20, 2019.

Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland on Tuesday with three close Trump allies for what was initially sold as a “personal” trip. It soon became clear that his intention was to further his father’s intention to purchase the Arctic territory

With an area of ​​836,000 square kilometers, Greenland is a sparsely populated Arctic autonomous region of Denmark. Comparing it to the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1967, it can be estimated that the total price of Greenland would be around $230.25 million – although it is unlikely that the same measures would be used to determine its value.

Don Jr. was in Greenland on Tuesday with conservative Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk; Sergio Gor, with whom he co-owns Winning Team Publishing; and his father’s new deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs, James Blair.

Immediately after landing it became clear that Don Jr. was not present for a personal visit.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Don Jr. and my representatives land in Greenland. The welcome was great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength and PEACE! This is a deal that has to happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!’

Don also visited a local lunch spot where he met community members in Nuuk, Greenland, and put his father on speakerphone so he could directly address some of the residents of the area he wants to acquire.

‘I just want to say: it is a very special place. The country needs security for itself, but also for the world,” Trump said on the phone. ‘The location actually, you see the people and the ships sailing around, and they are not the right ships. These are not the ships you want to know more about.’

“You are so strategically located,” Trump added.

“So we need security – our country needs it and the whole world needs it,” he concluded to cheers from those listening to the call.