It has been a hell of a week for President Donald Trump, even by his own standards.

In just two days, Trump snubbed a key NATO ally (again), made remarks about Jews that were widely criticized as being anti-Semitic (again), flip-flopped on a key economic proposal (again), and backed off from supporting stronger background checks for firearm purchases amid pressure from the NRA (again).

The avalanche of reversals, denials, and bungled messaging adds yet another layer to a portrait of a White House in constant chaos and disarray.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

It's been a roller coaster of a week for President Donald Trump, even by his own standards. And the avalanche of public reversals, denials, and bungled messaging adds yet another layer to a portrait of a White House in constant chaos.

Things were already rocky heading into the week, following reports that the president wanted to purchase Greenland, the world's largest island and an autonomous territory of Denmark, for the US.

It wasn't entirely clear at first how serious Trump was about the idea. One person close to him described it to The Wall Street Journal less as a serious inquiry and more as a joke to showcase how powerful he is. The person noted that since Trump hadn't floated the idea at a campaign rally yet, he probably wasn't really considering it.

But on Sunday, Trump confirmed his administration has contemplated the proposal to buy Greenland because of its strategic location and rich supply of natural resources like coal and uranium. He also suggested that Greenland is a financial liability to Denmark.

By late Tuesday evening, the president had chimed in about the idea on Twitter and said he was postponing a meeting with Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, because she had no interest in selling Greenland to the US.

The move likely caught Carla Sand, the US's ambassador to Denmark, off guard. Earlier that day, Sands tweeted, "Denmark is ready for the POTUS ... Partner, ally, friend." Hours later, after Trump's abrupt reversal, Sands reassured others that the president "values & respects" Denmark and "looks forward to a visit in the future."

Read more: Another domino just fell toward an impeachment inquiry for Trump

Trump snubs a key NATO ally (again)

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen makes a comment about US President's cancellation of his scheduled State Visit, in front of the State Department in Copenhagen, Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2019. U.S. President Trump announced his decision to postpone a visit to Denmark by tweet on Tuesday Aug. 20, 2019, after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed the notion of selling Greenland to the U.S. as "an absurd discussion." (Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix) Associated Press

Though Trump initially tried to strike a friendly tone, he soured after learning that Frederiksen described his suggestion as "an absurd discussion."

"Greenland is not Danish," Frederiksen told a Danish newspaper this week. "Greenland belongs to Greenland. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously."

Trump fired back at Frederiksen on Wednesday, calling her rejection of the idea "nasty." He added: "All they had to do is say, 'No, we'd rather not do that,' or 'We'd rather not talk about it.' Don't say, 'What an absurd idea that is.'"

"You don't talk to the United States that way," he said. "At least not under me."