‘this Is Not A Joke’: Rubio Says Trump Is Serious About Buying Greenland

Secretary of State Marco Rubio doubled down on President Donald Trump’s desire to buy Greenland, saying it would be vital to U.S. interests.

“This is not a joke,” Rubio said on the “The Megyn Kelly Show” on SiriusXM Thursday, one of his first media appearances since being sworn in. “This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land. This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved.”

During the interview, Rubio downplayed Trump’s previous remarks about not ruling out using military force against Denmark, a NATO ally, to acquire Greenland — but he didn’t outright dismiss the possibility.

“He is not going to begin what he views as a negotiation or a conversation by taking ... leverage off the table, and that’s a tactic that’s used all the time in business,” Rubio said. “It’s being applied to foreign policy and I think to great effect in the first term.”

Earlier this month, Trump had a tense phone call about his desire to purchase the autonomous territory with Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. During the call, she reiterated to Trump Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede’s repeated statements that the territory is not for sale, her office said.

Rubio said the Arctic is going to become “critical for shipping lanes” as the region’s ice continues to melt. He said if the U.S. doesn’t take action, China could gain dominance over the territory.

“So the question becomes, if the Chinese begin to threaten Greenland, do we really trust that that is not a place where those deals are going to be made?” Rubio said. “Do we really trust that that is not a place where they would not intervene, maybe by force?”