Of note, no one corrected Scotto's obvious error, an error she either misread from her notes in front of her or were written down as a mistake to begin with. And it's a bit unclear if Truman ever made such an offer, or even knew about it. Truman's Secretary of State James Byrnes made the offer after negotiations with Denmark over U.S. military bases in Greenland broke down after the war, and an exasperated Byrnes suggested the United States buy Greenland outright. Denmark's foreign minister Gustav Rasmussen was taken aback and is said to have replied, “While we owe much to America, I do not feel that we owe them the whole island of Greenland”.
Source: Mediaite
On Tuesday’s edition of The Five, guest co-host Rosanna Scotto told viewers that President Harry Truman tried to buy Greenland in 1867.
Scotto, who anchors Good Day New York on the local Fox affiliate in the city, said there is historical precedent for Trump’s idea:
"It actually is not the first time this has happened. They’re calling the President-elect ‘bananas’ and ‘crazy’ for coming up with this idea. But by the way, this is not the first time that America has tried to buy Greenland. Back in 1867, Democratic President Harry Truman tried to buy Greenland for $100 million, which would be about a billion in our day and age, $1 billion. It didn’t happen, obviously. Still very important… I think the president may be onto something."
Community notes to the rescue.
