A satirical Danish petition to purchase California from the United States has garnered over 280,000 signatures, amid growing European anger over Donald Trump’s plan to annex Greenland. The campaign, hosted on Denmarkification.com, proposes renaming Disneyland to “Hans Christian Andersenland” and rebranding the Golden State as “New Denmark.” The tongue-in-cheek initiative mirrors Trump’s own rhetoric, stating that the acquisition is in the national interest to promote “extraordinary heritage.”
The petition’s creators have borrowed Trump’s justification for taking Greenland, a Danish territory, and turned it against him. The website claims that buying California is necessary to “protect the free world” and offers to inject “hygge”—the Danish concept of cozy contentment—into Hollywood. It also promises a letter from the Danish royal family, a lifetime supply of Californian avocados, and a private beach in Malibu to donors.
The satirical price tag for California is set at “$1 trillion (give or take a few billion).” The website even acknowledges Trump’s authoritarian streak, noting that “as for the will of the citizens? Well, let’s face it – when has that ever stopped him?” The campaign has sparked widespread online debate, with many Californians expressing enthusiasm for the idea of Danish rule.
The petition comes as Trump continues to push for control of Greenland, citing national security concerns and alleged Russian and Chinese military build-up in the region. Denmark, the UK, the EU, and Canada have all opposed the move, while Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has insisted the territory wishes to remain part of the Danish Kingdom. Protests in Greenland have featured signs reading “Make America Go Away” and chants of “Greenland is not for sale.”
A spokesperson for the Denmarkification website said the campaign has brought much-needed levity to tense public discourse. “It seems that even though the petition was intended as a joke, the very idea of injecting some hygge, rule of law, facts-based politics and Danish pastries seems to appeal to a lot of Americans,” the spokesperson added. The team plans to create more satirical pages in the future.
