Why Greenland Keeps Rejecting America's Advances
What A Day
What A Day
4.6 • 12.6K Ratings
🗓️ 21 January 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
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Summary
President Donald Trump’s obsession with Greenland isn’t new. Back in 2019, he made an offer to buy the island, but was told by Denmark and Greenland that it was not for sale. It still isn’t – as Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and the good people of Greenland itself keep making incredibly clear. But Trump is not the first U.S. President to express interest in the island. So how did we get here? For more on our long, weird relationship with Greenland, we spoke to Ronald Doel. He’s a professor at Florida State University and co-editor of “Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on Ice.”
And in headlines, Congress releases the text of a new funding package to keep the government open, President Trump gives a very weird press briefing, and the measles is having a record resurgence in the U.S.
Show Notes:
- Check out Exploring Greenland: Cold War Science and Technology on Ice
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
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- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's Wednesday, January 21st. I'm Jane Koston, and this is what a day. |
| 0:07.1 | The show celebrating Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for speaking up for the everyday retiree landlords, |
| 0:13.2 | who may be affected by the president's new, quote-unquote, affordability agenda. |
| 0:18.4 | We're going to give guidance at some point to see what is a mom and pop that someone, |
| 0:26.3 | maybe your parents for their retirement, about five, 10, 12 homes. |
| 0:30.5 | So we don't want to push the mom it pops out. |
| 0:32.9 | We just want to push everyone else out. |
| 0:35.4 | Yes, everyday moms and pops with their 10 to 12 homes. |
| 0:40.6 | You know, normal stuff. |
| 0:59.4 | On today's show, Congress released the text of a new funding package to keep the government open. Yay! But it gives immigration and customs enforcement $10 billion. Boo! And measles is back. |
| 1:08.2 | Maybe. The contagious disease that was once considered eliminated in the US of A is having a record resurgence. |
| 1:14.1 | But let's start with Greenland. |
| 1:16.5 | We've sure been talking a lot about the world's largest island, haven't we? |
| 1:20.5 | That's because, as we've mentioned on this show, President Donald Trump is absolutely obsessed with obtaining Greenland by any means necessary. |
| 1:28.3 | He made his latest vague threat on Tuesday during a very weird press conference, even by Trump |
| 1:32.9 | standards, because for one thing, he also praised the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. |
| 1:37.9 | How far are you willing to go to acquire Greenland? |
| 1:41.3 | You'll find out. |
| 1:42.9 | But Trump's obsession with Greenland isn't new. Back in 2019, he made an offer |
| 1:46.7 | to buy the island, but was told by Denmark and Greenland that it was not for sale. It still isn't, |
| 1:52.1 | as Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, and the good people of Greenland itself keep making |
| 1:56.7 | incredibly clear. In fact, thousands of Greenlanders gathered in the capital city of Nuka on |
... |
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