A joke petition seeking to buy the state of California for Denmark has attracted more than 250,000 signatures by Friday, February 14th.
The petition urges Danes to contribute 200,000 Danish krone (€27,000) each to reach the goal of $1 trillion in order to acquire the western state with its 39 million inhabitants.
“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 authors of the petition write, jokingly adding that U.S. President Donald Trump “isn’t exactly California’s biggest fan,” having called it “the most ruined state in the Union.”
The petition is a response to Trump’s claims that he wishes to acquire the island of Greenland, an autonomous territory which belongs to Denmark.
As we recently reported, Greenland is home to a U.S.-operated space base, a key facility for missile early warning and space surveillance. Trump’s renewed focus on the Arctic has been driven by concerns over its vast untapped resources, as well as the shipping routes that would open up if the ice cap melts. The U.S. also wants to counter Russia and China’s growing presence in the region.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said that “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” and only the local population could determine its future. To counter Trump’s rhetoric, her government announced a €1.9 billion plan to bolster its Arctic defence.
This latest announcement is a symbolic victory for the U.S. president who wants NATO members to take responsibility for key regions threatened by Russian and Chinese expansion. Trump has been concerned about the United States’ allies failing to spend enough on their militaries, leaving the U.S. to pick up the bill for defending them.
According to Kenneth Haar, a Danish man who helped set up the petition to buy California
The Trump-Greenland issue is, by far, the biggest political issue in this country at the moment. It is considered a very depressing and a very dangerous situation.
The petition appeals to Danes to pay their share of the money because—among other positive attributes—California “has 300 days of sunshine a year,” it “grows 90% of the U.S.’s avocados,” and “we’ll never run out of avocado toast.”
