“President Donald Trump last month told Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that he would be willing to unfreeze $16 billion in funding for a major infrastructure project in New York if Schumer would agree to rename New York’s Penn Station and Washington’s Dulles Airport after him, two sources familiar with the conversation told ABC News.”
“Sources told ABC that Schumer rejected Trump’s offer. The White House and Schumer’s office have not yet commented on the story, which was first reported by Punchbowl News. Over the past year, Trump has added his name on the Kennedy Center and the U.S. Institute for Peace. In December the U.S. Navy announced plans for ‘Trump Class’ of battleships.”
Some view this as a sign of megalomania. Last month, “President Donald Trump warned European leaders that he no longer feels bound to prioritize peace, linking his frustration over not receiving the Nobel Peace Prize to his campaign to bring Greenland under U.S. control,” reported the conservative Daily Caller:
The remarks, delivered in a private text message sent to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, come as tensions between Washington and Europe have skyrocketed over Trump’s renewed push for the semi-autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America,” Trump said in the message, which was first reported by PBS and confirmed as accurate in a statement by the Norwegian leader.
It would likely be a bad idea for the U.S. to spend billions buying Greenland. Greenland is a costly white elephant. Greenland currently costs more money to administer than it provides in tax revenue for Denmark, and the U.S. does not need to acquire Greenland to put bases there — Denmark always allowed the U.S. to have as many bases as it wanted, and the U.S. closed most of its bases after the end of the Cold War, viewing them as unnecessary for national security. If the U.S. acquired Greenland, that would make Trump stand out more in the history books, but it would probably not benefit the United States, on a net basis.
The American public overwhelmingly opposes acquiring Greenland.
Conservative Danish parliamentarian Rasmus Jarlov noted that “The USA already has a defence agreement with Denmark that gives them exclusive and full military access to Greenland. But they are not using it. They have downgraded their presence by 99%.”
Greenland does have minerals, but only a small fraction of them are economically viable to mine. Greenland is too cold and icy a place to mine most of those minerals, and mining is easier and cheaper in more temperate climates. Moreover, “analysts say, the United States doesn’t need to take over the island to get” its minerals. “Greenlanders have said they are open to doing business — with just about anyone.” Australians, Canadians, and other foreigners are already involved in mining in Greenland.
