Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said on Wednesday that he is open to a U.S. purchase of Greenland given its strategic value and natural resources.
Fetterman described the necessity of having a “strong connection” with the island-nation, and suggested a purchase of the territory as a means to secure strategic military assets including rare earth minerals. Greenland, an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark, has sprung to the forefront of the conversation of American dominance in the Western Hemisphere after President Donald Trump called the island a necessity for national security.
“Ideally we could purchase [Greenland]. And that’s not scandalous either,” Fetterman told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. “That’s been an idea in our history for a while. Ideally, we could purchase it. But certainly, I don’t ever support invading Greenland in the traditional sense … if they don’t sell it, we need to have a strong relationship, absolutely.”
“What is Greenland?” Fetterman asked. “It’s three times the size of Texas, and it has fewer people living there than Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. I mean, this isn’t like a nation in a traditional kind of sense.”
“[Greenland] has absolutely important, a very important strategic, and also rare minerals too,” Fetterman said. “I don’t support a full-on invasion and taking over, but you can’t even invade—I mean, it’s 50,000 rounding people in a gigantic island. I mean, they don’t even have a military.”
“The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal,” the White House said Tuesday, as reported by Reuters.
“We need Greenland, from a national security situation,” Trump said on Jan. 4 aboard Air Force One. “It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security. And Denmark is not going to be able to do it, I can tell you.”
Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul also signaled he may also support purchasing Greenland, but not taking the island by military force, on Wednesday.
“I’m not against purchasing Greenland. But usually, if I want to buy something from you, if you have a horse to sell me, I don’t go up and tell you, ‘I hate you,’ and tell you, ‘I’m going to use military force to take the horse,’” Paul told reporters Wednesday. “It’s not a great strategy for buying something.”
Republican Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt called Denmark’s claim on Greenland “nebulous,” and said he “absolutely” thinks the U.S. needs to pursue the island.
“I personally think that we ought to be active in pursuing Greenland, absolutely,” Schmitt told reporters on Wednesday. “All of our defense of the Western Hemisphere, of the homeland, whether it’s Ballistic Missile Defense or in space, Greenland has an incredible strategic value, and the critical minerals there.”
“The other thing I’d point out, China and Russia are operating off the coast of Greenland,” Schmitt continued. “Denmark is not capable of protecting Greenland. And so in my view, we have a very keen interest in Greenland.”
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