Greenland dispute: Trump says Danish PM's comments were 'not nice'

The comments come amid a back and forth dispute between Trump and Denmark over his offer to purchase Greenland.

Image: Trump and Denmark are embroiled in a back and forth dispute over Greenland

Donald Trump says comments from Denmark's prime minister that dismissed his offer to buy Greenland as "absurd" were "inappropriate" and "not nice".
The US president demanded more respect be shown to the US, adding that his offer to purchase the autonomous Danish territory was "just an idea".

His comments came after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said she was "disappointed and surprised" by Mr Trump calling off his planned trip to Denmark over the the dispute.

Image: Donald Trump has confirmed reports he discussed buying Greenland from Denmark

Speaking to reporters, Ms Frederiksen said she had been looking forward to meeting the president of "one of our closest allies", adding that the invitation would "remain open".
Mr Trump tweeted his decision to cancel the official visit on Tuesday evening, saying Ms Frederiksen's words had saved both countries "a great deal of expense and effort...by being so direct".

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Image: The Danish PM said the invitation for Trump to visit remained open

Five reasons Trump may want to buy Greenland

But Ms Frederiksen has maintained that in her rejection she was supporting the wishes expressed by Greenland.
She said: "A discussion about a potential sale of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen, and I fully stand behind that rejection."

Danes scoff at Trump's bid to buy Greenland

Idea put forward by the US president described as 'final proof he has gone mad'.

Denmark's royal household, which had invited Mr Trump to meet Queen Margrethe, echoed Ms Frederiksen's response , saying that his decision had come as "a surprise".
Meanwhile, other Danes were less reserved.
Former prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said that the cancellation was "deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark".
A former foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, told broadcaster TV2 that it was "diplomatic farce" for the US president to "throw a hissy fit".

 

Mr Trump's interest in purchasing the autonomous Danish territory was first reported last week after he held a private meeting with advisers - some of whom were reported to have laughed at the idea, believing it was a joke.
A similar reaction was seen in Greenland and Denmark, where MPs unanimously rejected the idea as "grotesque" or an out-of-season April Fool's Day joke.
But the former property developer eventually confirmed his interest in purchasing the world's largest island as "a large real-estate deal".
Responding to the ridicule, he tweeted a superimposed picture of Trump Tower on to an Arctic landscape backdrop, which he captioned with a promise to not make the doctored image a reality.