Lauder Pitches Trump to Buy Greenland, Offers to Act as Intermediary with Denmark

Billionaire Ronald Lauder, a longtime friend of Donald Trump since both attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the 1960s, pitched Trump on acquiring Greenland from Denmark in summer 2019 and offered to serve as the administration's intermediary for the transaction. Trump told then-National Security Advisor John Bolton that "a friend of mine, a really, really experienced businessman, thinks we can get Greenland." Denmark rejected the proposal, and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called it absurd. Lauder's push came while his investor group was quietly acquiring stakes in Greenlandic water and energy companies.