Donald Trump could visit Denmark this year. How would Denmark welcome him?
Rumours of a possible visit to Denmark by US president Donald Trump later this year have sparked discussion of how the divisive leader would be received in the Scandinavian country.
Trump said earlier this week that he might include a stop in Denmark in his official visit to Poland this autumn, Reuters reports.
Although that by no means makes such a visit certain, commenters have speculated on how Trump is viewed by the Danish public and officials, and how that might characterize any stopover in the country.
Trump’s three predecessors – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – all visited Denmark during their time in office.
But a visit from Trump would have a very different feel to those of earlier presidents, said Philip Christian Ulrich, foreign editor with media kongressen.com, which reports on US politics.
“The animosity and opposition we have seen to much of Trump’s politics would affect such a visit,” Ulrich said.
READ ALSO: Americans and Danes support March For Our Lives at Copenhagen rally
Obama, who was in Denmark twice in 2009 including for the COP15 climate conference, was received like a “rock star”, he said, while Bush’s visit was strengthened by the Republican president’s close personal relationship with then-prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
“That balanced in some way the unpopularity Bush also had in relation to the Danish public. It was very much balanced out by the warm friendship between (Bush) and Fogh,” Ulrich continued.
“That (relationship) just doesn’t exist between Trump and Danish politicians,” he said.
Denmark has continued its good relationship with the US during Trump’s presidency, with former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen having met Trump in Washington, D.C., where he maintained a cordial rapport.
It would make sense from a strategic point of view to welcome Trump to Denmark, Ulrich said.
“Even though we don’t spend two percent of our BNP on defence in relation to our Nato participation – something Trump cares a lot about – Denmark is an ally which is always there when the US calls.
“So it’s also in the Americans’ interest to preserve the good relationship,” he said.
The Danish Prime Minister’s Office (Statsministeriet) told Ritzau on Tuesday that no visit by the US president to Denmark is currently confirmed, although it added that “the president of a very close and valued ally of Denmark is naturally always welcome”.
READ ALSO: Obama uses Denmark speech to warn against 'racial', 'nationalistic' politics
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Trump said earlier this week that he might include a stop in Denmark in his official visit to Poland this autumn, Reuters reports.
Although that by no means makes such a visit certain, commenters have speculated on how Trump is viewed by the Danish public and officials, and how that might characterize any stopover in the country.
Trump’s three predecessors – Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama – all visited Denmark during their time in office.
But a visit from Trump would have a very different feel to those of earlier presidents, said Philip Christian Ulrich, foreign editor with media kongressen.com, which reports on US politics.
“The animosity and opposition we have seen to much of Trump’s politics would affect such a visit,” Ulrich said.
READ ALSO: Americans and Danes support March For Our Lives at Copenhagen rally
Obama, who was in Denmark twice in 2009 including for the COP15 climate conference, was received like a “rock star”, he said, while Bush’s visit was strengthened by the Republican president’s close personal relationship with then-prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
“That balanced in some way the unpopularity Bush also had in relation to the Danish public. It was very much balanced out by the warm friendship between (Bush) and Fogh,” Ulrich continued.
“That (relationship) just doesn’t exist between Trump and Danish politicians,” he said.
Denmark has continued its good relationship with the US during Trump’s presidency, with former prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen having met Trump in Washington, D.C., where he maintained a cordial rapport.
It would make sense from a strategic point of view to welcome Trump to Denmark, Ulrich said.
“Even though we don’t spend two percent of our BNP on defence in relation to our Nato participation – something Trump cares a lot about – Denmark is an ally which is always there when the US calls.
“So it’s also in the Americans’ interest to preserve the good relationship,” he said.
The Danish Prime Minister’s Office (Statsministeriet) told Ritzau on Tuesday that no visit by the US president to Denmark is currently confirmed, although it added that “the president of a very close and valued ally of Denmark is naturally always welcome”.
READ ALSO: Obama uses Denmark speech to warn against 'racial', 'nationalistic' politics
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