Not for sale: Scenic shorelines of Nuuk, Greenland, somehow attracted US President Donald Trump. File photo / AP
Not for sale: Scenic shorelines of Nuuk, Greenland, somehow attracted US President Donald Trump. File photo / AP
EDITORIAL
The famous line from Shakespeare's Hamlet about "something is rotten in the state of Denmark" may never seem the same again.
In a whirlwind of undiplomacy, US President Donald Trump made a public play for Greenland, a country which is part of the Danish crown.
After being publicly slappeddown by Denmark's Prime Minister, Trump cancelled a planned state visit next month and called Mette Frederiksen's statement "nasty".
The President is struggling to stick to a line that the US economy is strong despite warning flags.
The Prime Minister had described Trump's bid to buy Greenland as an "absurd discussion". She did not mince words. "Greenland is not for sale. I strongly hope that this is not meant seriously."
And she got to the nub of the matter: "Thankfully, the time where you buy and sell other countries and populations is over. Let's leave it there."
It's not hard to imagine how insulting it must have seemed to Greenlanders. And Denmark is a Nato member and US ally. Joking references emerged on social media to New Zealand, Canada and Australia being better buys. There was speculation Trump wanted to avoid any comparison to former President Barack Obama, who is due to visit Denmark at the end of September.
President Donald Trump's scattergun actions and words seem to have economic and re-election fears at its heart. Photo / AP
New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman tweeted: "Sometimes the tactics are pre-planned, like making clear to Israel he wants two congresswomen barred from visiting. And sometimes they are stumbled into like a story about him obsessing about Greenland for many months that he was surprised to see emerge and then ran with it."
With his bygone imperial pitch, Trump gave Frederiksen no choice but to strongly back her country's interests.
She was dismissed with the same word, "nasty", that the President has used before against other powerful women.
Most world leaders have tended to deal with the head of the most important Western country with excessive caution and care. Trump reacts badly to head-on hits.
But Trump's opponents take note: The direct approach delivers a clear message in authentic language and with a jolt of certainty voters like. It also puts pressure back onto Trump, who appears a man under overwhelming pressure.
At an impromptu presser this week, Trump glanced skywards and told reporters he was the "chosen one" to take on China over trade. On Tuesday he questioned the loyalty of any American Jews who vote Democrat and backpedalled on gun legislation. The next day he reiterated his support for gun background checks.
What's coming across is scattergun chaos, with economic and re-election fears at its heart. The President is struggling to stick to a line that the US economy is strong despite warning flags.
On Wednesday, he hinted at tax cuts – including a payroll measure White House aides had said wasn't being considered - to boost the economy. Yesterday he backed away, saying: "I just don't see any reason to. We don't need it. We have a strong economy."
He also has been pressuring Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, tweeting "he's like a golfer who can't putt". Unemployment is still low, but growth is slowing and the Congressional Budget Office forecast the deficit to rise to more than US$1 trillion in the next financial year.
A new Morning Consult poll showed 49 per cent of 2016 Trump voters would solely or partially blame him if the economy soured. Among all voters that rose to 69 per cent.
Something is shaking in the state of the White House.
