Donald Trump has called a statement by the Danish prime minister "nasty" after she dismissed his offer to buy Greenland as an absurdity.

The president demanded more respect be shown to the US, adding that his offer to purchase the autonomous Danish territory was "just an idea".

"You don't talk to the United States that way, at least under me," Mr Trump said.

"I thought it was not a nice statement, the way she blew me off."

The president has called off a planned visit to Denmark over the dispute.


Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the suggestion he wanted to buy Greenland "an absurd discussion".

Mr Trump, speaking as he was leaving the White House for an event in Kentucky, said that "was nasty. I thought it was an inappropriate statement.

"All she had to say was say, 'No, we wouldn't be interested.'"

Ms Frederiksen said she was "disappointed and surprised" by Mr Trump calling off the trip.

The US president kept the row going in two tweets on Wednesday evening as he criticised Denmark's contribution to NATO.

He wrote: "For the record, Denmark is only at 1.35% of GDP for NATO spending. They are a wealthy country and should be at 2%.

"We protect Europe and yet, only 8 of the 28% countries are at the 2% mark."

He added: "Because of me, these countries have agreed to pay ONE HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS more - but still way short of what they should pay for the incredible military protection provided.

"Sorry!"

Image: The Danish PM said the invitation for Trump to visit remained open

Mr Trump was due to visit Denmark on 2 and 3 September but cancelled the visit in a tweet on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Ms Frederiksen said she had been looking forward to meeting the president of "one of our closest allies", adding that the invitation would "remain open".

Mr Trump tweeted his decision to cancel the official visit on Tuesday evening, saying Ms Frederiksen's words had saved both countries "a great deal of expense and effort...by being so direct".

Five reasons Trump may want to buy Greenland

But Ms Frederiksen has maintained that in her rejection she was supporting the wishes expressed by Greenland.

She said: "A discussion about a potential sale of Greenland has been put forward. It has been rejected by Greenland Premier Kim Kielsen, and I fully stand behind that rejection."

Denmark's royals had invited Mr Trump but the palace says they were blindsided by the tweet cancelling the trip.

Meanwhile, other Danes were less reserved.

Former prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt said that the cancellation was "deeply insulting to the people of Greenland and Denmark".

Speaking to Sky News she said: "What seemed to be funny before, it's not funny anymore.

"This is a double insult from President Trump. First of all he invites himself, which is fine, then he suggests he can buy a nation in the kingdom of Denmark - it's not even Danish, it belongs to the Greenlandic people.

"And... when the prime minister comes out and says what everyone feels in the kingdom of Denmark, that Greenland is not for sale, he gets very insulted and decides not to come within 10 days of the visit."

She added: "Everyone can feel this is an insult before you visit a country to say 'I want to buy a bit of that nation'. It's the same as President Trump arriving in the UK and saying he wants to buy Wales or Scotland and I think people feel offended, particularly the people who are part of that nation, in this case the Greenlandic people."

Ms Thorning-Schmidt went on to say it was a shame the US and Denmark were unable to sit down to discuss their common interests around the future of the Arctic, adding that European nations, particularly the UK, will be learning from the situation on how to deal with Mr Trump.

A former foreign minister, Martin Lidegaard, told broadcaster TV2 that it was "diplomatic farce" for the US president to "throw a hissy fit".

Mr Trump's interest in purchasing the autonomous Danish territory was first reported last week after he held a private meeting with advisers - some of whom were reported to have laughed at the idea, believing it was a joke.

A similar reaction was seen in Greenland and Denmark, where MPs unanimously rejected the idea as "grotesque" or an out-of-season April Fool's Day joke.

I promise not to do this to Greenland! pic.twitter.com/03DdyVU6HA — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 20, 2019

But the former property developer eventually confirmed his interest in purchasing the world's largest island as "a large real-estate deal".

Responding to the ridicule, he tweeted a superimposed picture of Trump Tower on to an Arctic landscape backdrop, which he captioned with a promise to not make the doctored image a reality.