7 months ago
15
Is California for sale? A lighthearted petition to bargain the authorities of California for Denmark prompted much than 200,000 signatures by Wednesday successful effect to President Donald Trump's speech astir taking power of Greenland, a immense and mineral-rich Arctic island.
"Have you ever looked astatine a representation and thought, 'You cognize what Denmark needs? More sunshine, thenar trees, and roller skates,'" the petition asks. "Well, we person a once-in-a-lifetime accidental to marque that imagination a reality.
"It is successful the nationalist involvement to beforehand the bonzer practice of our Nation, truthful California volition go New Denmark. Los Angeles? More similar Ls Angeles," it says.
Xavier Dutoit, the petition's organizer, got the thought past period portion vacationing successful the Philippines. He overheard an American tourer loudly discussing Trump's Greenland pitch.
"That American didn't look to grasp however unhinged and absurd it was for immoderate country's President - particularly successful a unchangeable ideology that the USA claims to beryllium - to connection oregon endanger to instrumentality implicit different sovereign country's territory," Dutoit wrote successful an email to The Associated Press.
While Dutoit is not Danish - helium is Swiss-French - helium consulted a multi-national radical of friends who are helping him, including Kenneth Haar, who is Danish and lives successful Copenhagen.
"The Trump-Greenland contented is, by far, the biggest governmental contented successful this state astatine the moment," Haar told AP successful a Zoom interview. "It is considered a precise depressing and a precise unsafe situation."
While Ls Angeles is simply a joke, determination is different metropolis successful Southern California with a precise existent transportation to the onshore of Vikings, Lego and Hans Christian Andersen. Known arsenic "the Danish superior of America," Solvang was founded by 3 immigrants from Denmark successful 1911.
The metropolis is fashionable with tourists, who travel successful droves for its aebleskiver pastries (similar to fritters), Scandinavian windmills, a main thoroughfare called " Copenhagen Drive " and, of course, a Hans Christian Andersen Museum to grant the celebrated Danish fairy communicative author. Danish royals person visited respective times implicit the decades.
In 2019, Trump scrapped a travel to Denmark, blaming Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen for making a "nasty" connection erstwhile she rejected his first-term thought of buying Greenland arsenic an absurdity. Greenland is simply a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, a U.S. state and chap subordinate of NATO.
Before taking bureau again past month, Trump said helium would not regularisation retired the usage of subject unit to prehend power of Greenland, calling it captious to U.S. nationalist security, and past period his lad visited the island.
Múte B. Egede, Greenland's premier minister, changeable back: "Greenland is for the Greenlandic people. We bash not privation to beryllium Danish, we bash not privation to beryllium American. We privation to beryllium Greenlandic."
Haar said California's entreaty to Danes is obvious, from its towering mountains to its sunny beaches.
"We person nary of that here," helium said. "Denmark is simply a beauteous level state with a beauteous boring climate."
The petition organizers adjacent person their ain plans for Disneyland successful Southern California: "We'll rename it Hans Christian Andersenland. Mickey Mouse successful a Viking helmet? Yes, please."
The petition notes that Trump isn't a instrumentality of the Golden State. Last year, helium called it "Paradise Lost" and helium regularly derides Gov. Gavin Newsom with the nickname "Newscum."
But of course, each petition needs immoderate good print, mode down astatine the bottom:
"Disclaimer: This run is 100% existent ... successful our dreams."
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