More than 200,000 Danish nationals have signed a satirical online petition to buy California from the United States and renamed the state “New Denmark”.
The jab comes after US President Donald Trump renewed his interest to acquire Greenland – an autonomous territory of Denmark – to be part of the US since his re-election in November 2024.
The petition, with the tagline Make California Great Again, pledges to introduce Danish values such as hygge – a Danish concept of cosiness – in Hollywood, bicycle lanes in Beverly Hills and organic smorrebrod (open-faced sandwiches) at every street corner.
It however, cautioned that rule of law, universal healthcare and fact-based politics “might apply”.
“Have you ever looked at a map and thought, ‘You know what Denmark needs? More sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates.’ Well, we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make that dream a reality,” the petition reads. “Let’s buy California from Donald Trump!”
The aim is to collect 500,000 signatures and crowdfund US$1 trillion (S$1.35 trillion) but the petition is only collecting signatures, not donations.
Tongue-in-cheek, it pitched five incentives for Danes to support the plan: sunshine, California’s tech scene, avocado toast, to protect the free world and Disneyland, which it proposed renaming Hans Christian Andersenland.
The petition noted that Mr Trump may be open to the deal, considering his run-ins with California politicians.
To further strengthen its case, the petition said it will “throw in a lifetime supply of Danish pastries to sweeten the deal”.
“Let’s be honest – Trump isn’t exactly California’s biggest fan. He’s called it ‘the most ruined state in the Union’ and has feuded with its leaders for years. We’re pretty sure he’d be willing to part with it for the right price.”
Republican Trump and Democratic governor Gavin Newsom have locked horns over various issues over the years, the latest being Mr Newsom allocating US$50 million to fight the Trump administration’s mass deportation operations.
Mr Trump first expressed interest in buying Greenland from Denmark in 2019 but was rebuffed.
This time, the tycoon-turned-politician has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.
Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede, who has stepped up a push for independence, has repeatedly said the mostly ice-covered island of just 57,000 people is not for sale and that it is up to its people to decide their future.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Jan 30 interview that buying Greenland was “not a joke”, insisting that acquiring Greenland was in the US’ national interest.
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