As President-elect Donald Trump continues to express interest in the U.S. acquiring Greenland, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., conveyed a willingness to entertain the concept.
Fetterman noted that he would not support forcibly seizing Greenland — but the senator, who made the comments during an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Special Report," pointed to historical American land acquisitions, including the Louisiana purchase and the purchase of Alaska.
Trump declared in a post on Truth Social last month, "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
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"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!" he said in a Truth Social post on Monday.
Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland on Tuesday.
The icy island "has its own extensive local government, but it is also part of the Realm of Denmark," according to denmark.dk. "Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it was redefined as a district of Denmark. In addition to its own local government, Greenland has two representatives in the Danish Parliament, the Folketing."
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act in a bipartisan 264-159 vote on Tuesday, and Fetterman said that he plans to support passage in the Senate.
The measure is named after the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student slain last year by an illegal alien in Georgia.
The legislation calls for the Homeland Security secretary to issue a detainer for an illegal alien who admits to, or is charged with, arrested, or convicted of actions that comprise the key elements of theft or similar offenses, and to take custody of the person if they have not been detained by federal, state, or local authorities.
Fetterman said he doesn't know why anyone finds it controversial that people illegally in the U.S. who commit crimes "need to go."
"Do you think that this was one of, if not the biggest issue for this election?" Fox News' Brett Baier asked Fetterman.
The senator replied that if Senate Democrats cannot muster 7 votes in support of the measure, that is one of the reasons they lost.
