Fact check: Did Denmark offer to buy United States?
Multiple posts shared on social media on Christmas Day suggest that the Danish government has offered to purchase the U.S.
They feature what appears to be a news article on the offer, and include quotes attributed to a Danish government spokesperson.
The posts came after remarks by president-elect Donald Trump that the purchase of Greenland was an “absolute necessity” for national security purposes, a reiteration of sentiment the Republican expressed when he was last in office.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The autonomous territory’s elected leader Múte Egede has since said: “Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale.”
Trump has also recently suggested the U.S. should retake control of the Panama Canal, and has also pushed the idea that neighboring Canada should become the 51st U.S. state.
Newsweek has contacted Denmark’s foreign ministry for comment via email.
The Claim
Multiple accounts across both X, formerly Twitter, and rival social network Bluesky shared the post, which read: “After rebuffing Donald J. Trump’s hypothetical proposal to purchase Greenland, the government of Denmark has announced that it would be interested in buying the United States instead.
“‘As we have stated, Greenland is not for sale,’ a spokesperson for the Danish government said on Friday. ‘We have noted, however, that during the Trump regime pretty much everything in the United States, including its government, has most definitely been for sale.'”
“Denmark would be interested in purchasing the United States in its entirety, with the exception of its government,” the spokesperson added.
Many commentors online appeared to believe the post was genuine.
“Brilliant response from Denmark,” read one reply.
Another said: “I love this, good for them!”
“Expert trolling by Denmark,” another post read.
The Facts
The apparent news report featured in the post in fact originates from a 2019 satirical article featured in The New Yorker, written by comedian Andy Borowitz, titled “Denmark Offers To Buy U.S.”
Quotes featured in the online posts, attributed to Danish authorities, are actually pulled from Borowitz’ 2019 article, which was written amid the controversy sparked by Trump’s initial suggestion to purchase Greenland during his first term.
The first three paragraphs of the satirical text match exactly to the quotes incorrectly attributed to a genuine spokesperson for the Danish government on social media, for example.
The Ruling
False.
The quotes attributed to the Danish government shared on social media do not originate from a Danish government spokesperson.
They instead come from a satirical 2019 article from “The Borowitz Report,” a satirical column on the news featured in The New Yorker.
FACT CHECK BY Joe Edwards
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