The President of the United States, Donald Trump, forgot how old America actually is during an embarrassing senior moment at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump, 79, was discussing his plan to appoint Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as special envoy to Greenland during a press briefing on Monday.
The president has become obsessed with the mineral-rich Arctic land, which is a self-governing Danish territory, and wants to make it part of America.
When asked about Landry’s role, Trump began a rambling answer about Greenland, which seemed to address criticism from Denmark’s foreign minister over America’s involvement with the region.
“We need Greenland for national protection,” Trump said. “They have a very small population. And I don’t know, they say Denmark, but Denmark has spent no money. They have no military protection.”
Trump then got muddled up with his American history as he stumbled over dates.
“They say that Denmark was there 300 years ago or something, with a boat,” Trump said. “Well, we were there with boats, too, I’m sure.” Except that the United States didn’t exist 300 years ago.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
Denmark emerged in the eighth century AD and formed the Kalmar Union with Norway and Sweden in 1397. The Nordic country colonized Greenland in 1721, which seems to be the year Trump was referencing. It became part of the Danish Kingdom in 1953 and a self-governing nation within the Kingdom of Denmark on June 21, 2009.
Despite Trump’s rubbery figures on Monday, America will celebrate its 250th birthday next year. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, which is typically seen as the birth of the nation.
Despite his failing memory, Trump is so fixated on the country’s upcoming birthday that last week he announced the Patriot Games, a new athletic competition to mark the milestone.
The president is also planning other birthday festivities for America, including a UFC fight to be staged at the White House, a national prayer event, and not only a possible $1 commemorative coin bearing his own face, but his face printed on a new $250 bill, too.
On Monday, Trump claimed that Landry had called him for the job (“He’s very proactive, he’s a dealmaker type guy”) but said America had no interest in Greenland’s rich minerals.
“We have so many sites for minerals and oil and everything. We have more oil than any other country in the world. We need Greenland for national security,” Trump said.
He continued, “If you take a look at Greenland, you look up and down the coast, you have Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. We need it for national security. We have to have it.”
However, Denmark’s foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he was “deeply upset” by Trump appointing a special envoy as part of his plan to make Greenland part of the United States.
Trump posted on Truth Social that Landry “understands how essential Greenland is to our national security, and will strongly advance our country’s interests for the safety, security, and survival of our allies, and indeed, the world.”
Landry has stated he plans to keep his job as Louisiana Governor as well as the special envoy role.
“I am deeply upset by this appointment of a special envoy. And I am particularly upset by his statements, which we find completely unacceptable,” Rasmussen told Denmark’s national broadcaster TV 2.
In a joint statement, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said they were opposed to Trump’s vision for Greenland.
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the U.S. shall not take over Greenland,” they said, adding, “You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.”
Vice President JD Vance visited Greenland in March this year, leading to protests from locals in front of the American Embassy in Copenhagen.
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