I do not have time to respond to all of the comments individually. I have read all of them, considered them respectfully. But I stand by my statements.
You do not extend an invitation to a world leader and before he steps off the plane trash him in the public square. Talk about an awkward dinner party when no one wants to sit next to the guest of honor.
Also it was laughable that his remarks about Greenland were considered so offensive when it is known that the Greenland topic is being discussed widely on the world stage.
So this faux outrage is what I am talking about and what I find objectionable.
There is such a thing as historical precedence and what happened in the past is still relevant in the world of diplomacy.
This whole thing started because Trump is hated and the PM took the opportunity to gain political points. She knew full well other world leaders are talking about the same thing, but the PM did not take the microphone to bash them for having the temerity to even think about Greenland.
This whole thing is ridiculous and could have been avoided.
Reading all these comments it sounds as if Trump was trying to launch WWIII. Let me try again to explain this.
1. The issue is not whether Trump was stupid for bringing the subject up.
2. The issue is not whether Greenland is for sale or not.
3. The issue is not whether Denmark should have invited him in the first place considering the anti-Trump sentiment abroad.
4. The issue is this: Denmark chose to host this big gathering. It was on the calendar. Trump was planning to attend. As the host country everyone should have done what diplomats, world leaders do all the time. Put the best face on things, smile even if you have to grit your teeth, until you can get the thing over with. Then after the guest has left, then leak to the press your true feelings.
Why would you want to have a cloud hanging over the festivities for something as trite as a comment about wanting to buy something. Because of the PM, all the publicity surrounding the visit would have involved the Greenland thing. People would analyze the photos to see if their smile towards Trump is genuine or not. I'm not trying to be funny, that is exactly what would have happened. The state visit would have been a disaster.
Why in the name of Heaven do people think that is an appropriate time to host a fancy dinner after you've already made it plain you don't like the guest you've invited?
And in the larger scheme of things what Trump said was not all that bad. It was, if anything, a compliment. Someone came up to me once, years ago, and wanted to buy my car. I thought it was a strange request. But I didn't throw a tantrum in front of him. I just simply said, "No I am not planning to sell it at the moment."
Would that have been so hard?
The spokesperson of the court said that the Court was "surprised" - pretty strong wording, actually.
Already a few hours later, a new press release made it clear that the planned Public Audience that was cancelled when Trump invited himself a month ago, will go through anyway.
The upside of this is that Queen Margrethe can use the time she was supposed to spend on him for something better.
RW1