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AP source: Trump has talked about buying Greenland for US

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, en route to a campaign rally in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

WASHINGTON — Aiming to put his mark on the world map, President Donald Trump has talked to aides and allies about buying Greenland for the U.S.

A White House ally told The Associated Press on Thursday that the president had discussed the purchase but was not serious about it. The ally spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations.

Still, it wouldn’t be the first time an American leader tried to buy the world’s largest island, an autonomous territory of Denmark.

In 1946, the U.S. proposed to pay Denmark $100 million to buy Greenland after flirting with the idea of swapping land in Alaska for strategic parts of the Arctic island.

Neither the White House nor Denmark immediately commented Thursday.

The story was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The Associated Press