Petition Launches for Denmark to Buy California

Solvang, California, founded by Danish immigrants, already serves as a connection between the state and Denmark (Flickr).

A Danish petition to buy California and make it “New Denmark” has already amassed over 200,000 signatures as of February 11. The petition is a clear response to U.S. President Trump’s repeated claims that he is interested in purchasing Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark. 

Parodying President Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again,” the “Denmarkification” petition pledges to “Måke Califørnia Great Ægain” and that signers will “Danify Califøornia Now!” In addition to its pithy slogans, the petition explains its reasons for choosing California: sunny weather, abundance of tech resources, avocado toast, and promoting Danish culture. To achieve this goal, the petition aims for 500,000 signatures and one trillion dollars from crowdfunding. The anonymous authors also outline their plans for California if the petition were to succeed. 

The first step would be to rename Disneyland “Hans Christen Andersenland” after the famous Danish author who wrote “The Little Mermaid.” The petition continues by stating that it will bring Danish cultural values to California such as bike lanes and organic smørrebrød. Making subtle digs at the US healthcare system and President Trump’s history of making unsubstantiated claims, these values also include rule of law, universal healthcare, and fact-based politics, The petition continues in this vein and suggests that President Trump could be open to the possibility of selling California, stating that he “isn’t exactly California’s biggest fan.” 

While the petition itself appears to be unserious and has a disclaimer that it is “100 percent real … [the creator’s] dreams,”  it is indicative of the Danish population’s negative feelings towards President Trump and his claims to buy Greenland. According to The Guardian, a YouGov poll found that 46 percent of Danes think that the United States is a “threat” to Denmark and 78 percent were against selling Greenland to the United States. Greenland shares these negative opinions with 85 percent of the population not wanting the United States to own Greenland. 

These overwhelmingly negative responses come in the wake of President Trump's comments last month that the United States will “have” Greenland. According to President Trump, purchasing Greenland would mean “protection for the free world.” An explanation for these claims is that the small nation has important natural resources like uranium and iron and is strategically located along an important trade route connecting the United States and Europe.

The official response from Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been less than welcoming to Trump’s proposition. In a 45-minute phone call between President Trump and Prime Minister Frederiksen, the Prime Minister insisted that Greenland was not for sale and suggested different ways the two countries could cooperate. President Trump responded to these efforts by threatening to raise tariffs on Denmark. According to The Financial Times, this call has put Denmark on edge and complicated U.S.-Denmark relations. 

In order to strengthen Denmark’s defenses in the Arctic, Prime Minister Frederiksen recently visited key NATO allies France and Germany and attended a summit of Nordic states, all of which reaffirmed the importance of the Arctic and their commitment to each other’s defense. 

Thus, while the Denmarkificaion petition is most likely a joke meant to satirize President Trump’s efforts to expand U.S. territory, it does speak to an increasing worry amongst Danish people and government officials that he will take serious action to control Greenland. As the Arctic island becomes a bargaining chip between the two allies, international tensions will center around the region and lead to increased outbursts as exemplified by the petition to buy California.