Since his first term, President-elect Donald Trump has insisted that the United States should purchase Greenland - to the bewilderment of aides asked to investigate such a possibility, and despite repeated denials by top officials in Greenland and Denmark, of which the island is an autonomous territory, that it would ever be for sale at any price.

In recent days the president-elect has called for asserting U.S. control over the Panama Canal and Greenland, showing that his “America First” philosophy has an expansionist dimension.