--- description: Too bad the internet wasn't around in 1946 when the US first wanted to buy Greenland. title: Everyone Has a Joke About Trump’s Reported Wish To Buy Greenland image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee1158eca7c7d8c4/698a0179656a3fbe1abd8c09/greenland.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # People Have Jokes About President Trump’s Reported Wish to Buy Greenland by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 16, 2019 3:38 PM CUT  Colourful houses on the island of Uummannaq GreenlandUummannaq is located 590 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle Colourful houses on the island of Uummannaq GreenlandUummannaq is located 590 kilometres north of the Arctic Circleoversnap—Getty Images by [Melissa Locker](/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 16, 2019 3:38 PM CUT Headlines that President Donald Trump is [reportedly interested](https://time.com/5653758/donald-trump-buy-greenland/ "undefined") in buying [Greenland](https://time.com/5339726/massive-iceberg-village-greenland/ "undefined"), despite the fact that the island is not for sale became a flash point for online fun. While the notion of Trump wanting to buy Greenland sounded ludicrous when it was first [reported](https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-eyes-a-new-real-estate-purchase-greenland-11565904223 "undefined") by the Wall Street _Journal_, but [as _TIME_ reported](https://time.com/5653894/trump-greenland-history/ "undefined"), this is not the first time the U.S. has floated the idea of purchasing the island. The first offer to buy the strategically-placed bit of land took place in 1946, well before the existence of the internet and long before Twitter users could hear about the plan and make fun of it online. That is not the case today. As soon as Twitter users heard that Trump had discussed purchasing Greenland enough times to make lawmakers wonder about the President’s seriousness, they started posting jokes about the possible plan. Here are just a few of the many, many people on Twitter poking fun at the president’s reported desire to buy Greenland. > [](https://twitter.com/DLind/status/1162151096267235329) > [](https://twitter.com/exjon/status/1162138788119711745) > [](https://twitter.com/YAppelbaum/status/1162123948391317504) > [](https://twitter.com/BetteMidler/status/1162181686584590338) > [](https://twitter.com/ReelQuinn/status/1162205608407269376) > [](https://twitter.com/DartDClark/status/1162151615585038336) > [](https://twitter.com/SassyGirlBoss/status/1162171184869466115) > [](https://twitter.com/bigsadboii/status/1162152572704251904) > [](https://twitter.com/jasonhsv/status/1162140975747272706) > [](https://twitter.com/andylassner/status/1162356178074005505) > [](https://twitter.com/Ida%5FRose%5FFog/status/1162261122721783813) > [](https://twitter.com/Noahpinion/status/1162261871014993925) > [](https://twitter.com/maddow/status/1162361314263674882) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5653167/trump-buy-greenland-memes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5653167/trump-buy-greenland-memes/"},"headline":"People Have Jokes About President Trump’s Reported Wish to Buy Greenland","datePublished":"2019-08-16T15:38:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:59:57.625Z","description":"Too bad Twitter wasn't around in 1946 when the US first wanted to buy Greenland","url":"https://time.com/5653167/trump-buy-greenland-memes/","keywords":["Newsfeed","politics","viral","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee1158eca7c7d8c4/698a0179656a3fbe1abd8c09/greenland.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltee1158eca7c7d8c4/698a0179656a3fbe1abd8c09/greenland.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Greenland homes","caption":"Greenland homes","creditText":"oversnap—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5653167/trump-buy-greenland-memes/","name":"People Have Jokes About President Trump’s Reported Wish to Buy Greenland"}}]}] ```