There was even a 'horrendous' phone call between Trump and Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen that left officials in Denmark who'd been wondering how seriously to take Trump's rhetoric 'utterly freaked out' as they realised the US has a 'serious, and potentially very dangerous' interest in acquiring Greenland.

Denmark would need to offer Greenland to the UK first before the island could be sold to Donald Trump, it has emerged. An agreement dating back to 1917 means Britain has first refusal on the Arctic island if current owners Denmark decide to sell it, according to Tom Høyem, Copenhagen’s representative in Greenland from 1982 to 1987.