Sen. Tom Cotton wants credit for helping Trump create diplomatic mess with Greenland

As Trump’s interest in purchasing Greenland turns into a diplomatic catastrophe, one Republican senator is trying to take credit for the idea.

“I can reveal to you that several months ago, I met with the Danish ambassador, and I proposed that they sell Greenland to us,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said Wednesday at an event in Little Rock, Arkansas, according to Talk Business & Politics. That meeting occurred in August 2018, as reported by Politico. 

Widely seen as a joke at first, Trump’s idea of purchasing Greenland from Denmark has turned into a full-scale diplomatic mess. On Wednesday, Trump went after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, calling her “nasty” after she said the idea of selling Greenland was “absurd.” His feelings hurt, Trump proceeded to cancel a planned state visit to the country that was scheduled for next month. 

Intended by Trump as a joke or not, Cotton said he pushed the idea to buy the island seriously. Cotton added that Greenland’s “economic potential is untold,” and the island is “vital to our national security.” Greenland is rich in mineral and energy resources, including iron ore, lead, diamonds, gold, rare earth metals, uranium, and oil, according to the Brookings Institute. 

“Anyone who can’t see that is blinded by Trump derangement,” Cotton said.

However, offering to buy the autonomous country clearly hasn’t been the best move for U.S.-Danish relations. But this isn’t the first time Cotton has pushed an insane foreign policy idea. 

Cotton has been a major supporter of Trump’s unnecessary trade war with China and has said that he’s fine with farmers going bankrupt because their sacrifices are tiny compared to the sacrifices made by members of the military.

“There will be some sacrifice on the part of Americans, I grant you that,” Cotton said in May. “But also I would say that sacrifice is pretty minimal compared to the sacrifices that our soldiers make overseas, that our fallen heroes who are laid to rest in Arlington make.”

Additionally, the trade war remains wildly unpopular and has helped destabilize the U.S. and the world economy. 

During the Obama administration, Cotton authored a letter to the Iranian mullahs behind the president’s back — signed by 46 other Republican senators — in an attempt to undercut the Iran nuclear deal. The move was lambasted by 22 newspaper editorial boards, and one Army general called it “mutinous.”

Now, as Trump continues to escalate his war of words against Denmark for a proposal he’d said earlier this week wasn’t even “number one on the burner,” Cotton for some reason is making sure the world knows it was all his idea.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.