Is California for sale? A lighthearted petition to buy the state of California for Denmark prompted more than 200,000 signatures by Wednesday in response to President Donald Trump鈥檚 talk about taking control of Greenland, a vast and mineral-rich Arctic island.
鈥淗ave you ever looked at a map and thought, 鈥榊ou know what needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates,鈥欌 . 鈥淲ell, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality.
鈥淚t is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation, so California will become New Denmark. Los Angeles? More like L酶s 脜ngeles,鈥 it says.
Xavier Dutoit, the petition's organizer, got the idea last month while vacationing in the Philippines. He overheard an American tourist loudly discussing Trump's Greenland pitch.
鈥淭hat American didn鈥檛 seem to grasp how unhinged and absurd it was for any country鈥檚 President 鈥 especially in a stable democracy that the USA claims to be 鈥 to offer or threaten to take over another sovereign country鈥檚 territory,鈥 Dutoit wrote in an email to The Associated Press.
While Dutoit is not Danish 鈥 he is Swiss-French 鈥 he consulted a multi-national group of friends who are helping him, including Kenneth Haar, who is Danish and lives in Copenhagen.
鈥淭he Trump-Greenland issue is, by far, the biggest political issue in this country at the moment,鈥 Haar told AP in a Zoom interview. 鈥淚t is considered a very depressing and a very dangerous situation.鈥
While L酶s 脜ngeles is a joke, there is another city in Southern California with a very real connection to the land of Vikings, Lego and Hans Christian Andersen. Known as was founded by three immigrants from Denmark in 1911.
The city is popular with tourists, who come in droves for its aebleskiver pastries (similar to fritters), Scandinavian windmills, a main street called 鈥 鈥 and, of course, a Hans Christian Andersen Museum to honor the famous Danish fairy tale author. Danish royals have visited several times over the decades.
In 2019, Trump scrapped a trip to Denmark, blaming Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for making a 鈥渘asty鈥 statement when she rejected his first-term idea of buying as an absurdity. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a U.S. ally and fellow member of NATO.
Before taking office again last month, Trump said he would not rule out the use of military force , calling it vital to U.S. national security, and last month his son visited the island.
M煤te B. Egede, Greenland鈥檚 prime minister, shot back: We do not want to be Danish, we do not want to be American. We want to be Greenlandic."
Haar said California's appeal to Danes is obvious, from its towering mountains to its sunny beaches.
鈥淲e have none of that here,鈥 he said. "Denmark is a pretty flat country with a pretty boring climate."
The petition organizers even have their own plans for : 鈥淲e鈥檒l rename it Hans Christian Andersenland. Mickey Mouse in a Viking helmet? Yes, please.鈥
The petition notes that Trump isn't a fan of the Golden State. Last year, he called it 鈥淧aradise Lost鈥 and he regularly derides with the nickname 鈥淣ewscum.鈥
But of course, every petition needs some fine print, way down at the bottom:
"Disclaimer: This campaign is 100% real 鈥 in our dreams."