Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) claims he was one of the first people to bring up the idea of the U.S. purchasing Greenland with President Donald Trump and even proposed it to Denmark last year.

The Danish ambassador who spoke with Cotton in August 2018, Lars Gert Lose, was “caught a little off guard” by the thought, a spokeswoman for the senator told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

It is unclear whether Cotton was the first to pitch the idea to Trump, who confirmed last weekend that he had been mulling it over. The senator’s spokeswoman told The Washington Post that Cotton brought it up in a conversation with the president more than a year ago.

Cotton defended the idea at a luncheon this week hosted by an Arkansas-based website, Talk Business & Politics, where he was asked why the U.S. might want to buy Greenland.

“You’re joking, but I can reveal to you that several months ago, I met with the Danish ambassador, and I proposed that they sell Greenland to us,” Cotton told the event moderator.

“It’s obviously the right decision for the United States, and anyone who can’t see that is blinded by Trump derangement,” he added, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.