Marco Rubio says Trump's interest in acquiring Greenland from Denmark is 'not a joke'
“This is not a joke,” Rubio said “The Megyn Kelly Show" on SiriusXM. "This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that President Donald Trump was not joking about his interest in purchasing Greenland from Denmark, after Trump floated the idea when announcing his pick for ambassador to Denmark last month.
Trump has received backlash from Greenland's government over the possible acquisition, which stated that the territory is not for sale. Trump has also teased merging with Canada and buying the Panama Canal.
Rubio claimed that Trump was not making a power grab when talking about buying Greenland, but was more concerned that Denmark would not be able to stop China if the global power sets its sights on the territory.
“This is not a joke,” Rubio said on “The Megyn Kelly Show" on SiriusXM. "This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved.”
Rubio did not dismiss the idea of taking Greenland by force, but downplayed the concept by pushing Trump's hope to purchase the land.
“This is a businessman who’s involved in politics, not a politician involved in politics,” Rubio explained. “So he approaches these issues from a transactional, business point of view. He is not going to begin what he views as a negotiation or a conversation by taking any leverage off the table. He wants to buy it, he wants to pay for it."
The comments come as Rubio prepares to make his first overseas trip as Secretary of State to Panama this weekend.
If Trump does buy the northern territory, it would mark the largest U.S. expansion since the Louisiana Purchase.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.