The New Yorker published a satirical story on Friday that Denmark wants to buy the U.S. — and readers were loving it.
The piece spoofed President Donald Trump’s reported interest in buying the Danish territory of Greenland. Greenland and Denmark’s officials slammed the idea as “ridiculous” and “final proof” that Trump “has gone mad.”
In any case, some wondered, why would anyone choose to be ruled by the U.S. government? For one thing, the people of Greenland would lose their national health benefits.
“I am sure a majority in Greenland believes it is better to have a relation to Denmark than the United States,” a Danish member of Parliament from Greenland’s second-largest party told Reuters.
The New Yorker spoof took that rejection of U.S. governance a step further.
“‘As we have stated, Greenland is not for sale,’” New Yorker columnist Andy Borowitz of the magazine’s “Borowitz Report” wrote, imagining the response of an anonymous Danish official. “We have noted, however, that during the Trump regime, pretty much everything in the United States, including its government, has most definitely been for sale.”
Denmark “would be interested in purchasing the United States in its entirety, with the exception of its government,” the column continues. Trump would have to be “relocated,” with Russia and North Korea as “possible destinations.”
“We believe that, by giving the U.S. an educational system and national health care, it could be transformed from a vast land mass into a great nation,” Borowitz’s imaginary Danish spokesperson quips.
Twitter users loved it — and made a lot of “hygge” references.