Tom Cotton Is Apparently Totally Serious About That Greenland Thing

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) makes an announcement on the introduction of the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on August 2, 2017. (Photo by Zach Gibso... Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) makes an announcement on the introduction of the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on August 2, 2017. (Photo by Zach Gibson - Pool/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) won’t let President Donald Trump’s failed idea of purchasing Greenland die.

In a New York Times op-ed Monday, the GOP senator reiterated his arguments on why he finds the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland — which he took credit for during a speaking engagement in Little Rock, Arkansas last week — to be a “no-brainer.”

Citing the purchase of Greenland as an economically beneficial move for the U.S. and the semi-autonomous Danish territory itself, Cotton defended the President for being “crazy like a fox” when “his critics predictably derided him as crazy.”

Cotton doubled down on his assertion that he met with the Danish ambassador last year to discuss the possibility of purchasing Greenland and brought up the history of the Truman administration’s effort to acquire Greenland in 1946 due to how the island was “indispensable to the safety of the United States” in confronting the growing Soviet threat.

Cotton also echoed his remarks last week in mentioning that in 2018 the Chinese government tried to convince the local government of Greenland to let it build three military bases there — but that the Trump administration and some in Congress convinced Denmark to block the deal at the last minute.

Cotton argued that “despite Greenland’s long-term potential, a lack of infrastructure and financing still hamstring the island’s economy today” that the U.S. could step in to “invest substantially in its future.”

“The transfer of Greenland’s sovereignty would alleviate a significant financial burden on the Danish people while expanding opportunities for Greenlanders,” Cotton said. “Just look at what American sovereignty has meant to Alaskans compared with conditions in Siberia under Russian control.”

Read Cotton’s op-ed in the New York Times here.

Latest News
113
Show Comments

Notable Replies

  1. Everything with this administration is a “No-Brainer”

    As in … “There were no brains involved in the making of this idea”

  2. Avatar for erik_t erik_t says:

    If Greenlanders want to be Americans (weird how we don’t afford Honduran refugees this choice, but bear with me), they can seek independence from Denmark and then petition us for territory status (I don’t think they are populous enough to be a state). And by the way, it wouldn’t cost the United States a dime!

    So go push your op-ed with the Sermersooq Herald, dipshit.

  3. They have drop “green” from the name though. Too squady.

  4. Yes, making Greenland essentially a U.S. military base would alter the life of residents significantly.

    image

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

107 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ajm Avatar for playitagainrowlf Avatar for austin_dave Avatar for eloise Avatar for ncsteve Avatar for bikerdad Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for george_spiggott Avatar for backcountry Avatar for ignoreland Avatar for greylady Avatar for ronbyers Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for schmed Avatar for jinnj Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for gajake Avatar for guysmiley Avatar for patl Avatar for susanintheoc Avatar for canyoncountry Avatar for kenga Avatar for rascal_crone Avatar for rucleare

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: