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 will cost about 1.5 trillion, but [it’ll] It's probably going to pay off,” Kilmeade said while speaking with Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley on “Jesse Watters Prime Time.” In a clip highlighted by Mediaite.
The Hill reached out to Fox News Media to find out how Kilmeade arrived at this number.
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,” 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] Is he interested in Greenland? ” Kilmeade began the conversation by asking Whatley about Trump.
“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 poorly developed. According to Reutersfishing remains the mainstay of the economy. 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 statements 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 Mr. Kilmeade.
“If you think about the conversations we've had with Canada, Mexico and other countries, there's a very common theme: The United States is going to be treated fairly or else we're going to have a dialogue with countries around the world. .”
