Jody Serrano
Editor in chiefEditor in Chief at Xataka On. Before joining Webedia, I was a tech reporter at Gizmodo and The Messenger. While I've covered all sorts of things related to technology, I'm specialized in writing about social media, Internet culture, Twitch, and streamers.
There are some ideas that never die, including President Donald Trump’s desire to buy Greenland. Trump has mused over the possibility for years, but this time Danes aren’t taking the news lying down.
They’re hitting back with a counteroffer: a proposal for Denmark to buy California.
The Denmarkification petition. More than 200,000 have signed an online petition called “Demarkification,” which describes the idea of buying California from Trump as “Denmark’s next big adventure.”
“Have you ever looked at a map and thought, ‘You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates.’ Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality,” the website states.
Eyes set on California. As for why the petition focuses on California, there are apparently several reasons. First of all, California has plenty of sunshine, something that is severely lacking in Denmark during the winter, a time when the country gets only one hour of light a day. Furthermore, the people behind the petition are apparently interested in all the tech bros in California, which is “what every democracy needs.”
The petition also places a high importance on avocados, stating that California’s wealth of avocados would ensure Denmark never runs out of avocado toast. Lastly, there’s Disneyland, which Denmark would rename to “Hans Christian Andersenland.” Hans Christian Andersen is one of Denmark’s most celebrated authors and is well-known for his fairy tales, including “The Little Mermaid” and “Thumbelina.”
A screenshot of the "perks" on the Denmarkification petition website. Click on the image to view the site.
Would the U.S. sell California? According to the petition’s authors, there’s a good chance that it would because Trump doesn’t like California very much.
“Let’s be honest – Trump isn’t exactly California’s biggest fan. He’s called it ‘the most ruined state in the Union’ and has feuded with its leaders for years. We’re pretty sure he’d be willing to part with it for the right price,” they state.
While Trump has never publicly said anything about selling California, he does often feud with the state’s lawmakers. During the recent Los Angeles fires, the president threatened to withhold federal disaster relief money unless the state changed its water management policies.
How it would work. Getting to 500,000 signatures would apparently set the Denmarkification plan into motion. The people behind the petition would then proceed to crowdfund the $1 trillion they estimate would be necessary to buy California “give or take a few billion.” To achieve the goal, they would ask every Danish citizen to contribute 200,000 kroner, or about $17,700.
“Skip a few lattes, and you’re golden,” the petition states.
Negotiators for the sale would naturally be executives from the Lego company and the cast of the Danish political drama Borgen.
Of course, it's not a real petition. The entire petition is a master class in trolling. At the bottom of the website, you’ll find the following: “This campaign is 100% real… in our dreams.” In addition, backers include “Karen from Accounting,” and “Sven the Viking.”
Even though it’s a joke, the “Denmarkification” petition does underscore how jaw-dropping it is to be talking about buying another country in the 21st century. Trump is interested in acquiring Greenland because of its reserves of critical minerals and what he claims is its strategic importance to U.S. national security.
Alas, Trump hasn’t only talked about taking control of Greenland. He’s also said the same about the Panama Canal and the Gaza Strip. In the case of Gaza, Trump is proposing removing the two million Palestinians that live there so he can turn the area into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
Not the first time the U.S. has wanted to get its hands on Greenland. However, it's worth noting that this isn't the first time the U.S. has expressed its interest in Greenland. In fact, this is the fifth time the U.S. has tried to buy the country from Denmark. Back in 1940, the U.S. offered Denmark $100 million for Greenland.
Image | Xataka On via Grok
Log in to leave a comment