US President Donald Trump considered buying Greenland in 2018 - the vast island under the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Now, the British newspaper The Guardian reports that the driving force behind the idea was none other than Jewish billionaire Ronald Lauder, a businessman and longtime donor to the Republican Party.
According to the report, former National Security Adviser John Bolton said that Trump summoned him to the Oval Office and announced: “A prominent businessman suggested that the United States buy Greenland." Bolton later learned that the businessman was Lauder - a close friend of Trump’s for more than six decades.
According to The Guardian, after presenting the initiative to the president, Lauder began acquiring various business holdings in Greenland, a move that strengthened his commitment to advancing the idea. As early as 2016, Lauder donated to Trump’s fundraising committee, and later stated: “I am helping Trump with some of the most complex diplomatic challenges imaginable."
Last year, Lauder revisited the issue in an op-ed published in the New York Post, writing: “Trump’s Greenland concept was never absurd - it was strategic." He argued that “beneath its ice and rock lies a treasure trove of rare-earth elements essential for AI, advanced weaponry, and modern technology."
He added: “As ice recedes, new maritime routes are emerging, reshaping global trade and security. Lauder also stated that Greenland sits at “the epicentre of great-power competition" and that he has "worked closely with Greenland’s business and government leaders for years to develop strategic investments there."