A Danish petition to buy California has flown past 280,000 signatures, as fury in Europe grows over Donald Trump’s plan to annex Greenland.
The satirical petition includes a plan to rename Disneyland to “Hans Christian Andersenland” and would even rename the Golden State itself. If the poll is successful, California would be rebranded as New Denmark.
The appeal is currently live on a website named Denmarkification.com. The ironic page includes a huge list of reasons for buying California and even uses Trump’s own justification for taking Greenland, a Danish territory, against him.
“It is in the national interest to promote the extraordinary heritage of our Nation, so California will become New Denmark,” the website reads, in Trump’s familiar manner of speaking. “Los Angeles? More like Løs Ångeles.”
Another section says that a purchase of California is necessary to “protect the free world.”
“Most people say we have the best freedom,” the Danish website adds. “Colossal freedom.”
Trump has long claimed that taking control of Greenland is in the United States’ national interest, citing the island's rich reserves of rare earth minerals. He has also claimed that he would protect the island’s freedom, making allegations of a massive build-up of Russian and Chinese forces in the region.
As Europe grows increasingly angry at his demands, he piled pressure onto the continent by slapping tariffs on countries that openly condemn his plans.
However, over 286,000 people have signed the Denmarkification petition, which promises to bring “hygge,” a Danish concept of cozy contentment, to Hollywood.
According to the website, a purchase of California would only cost “$1 trillion (give or take a few billion).”
Accounting for the will of the Californian people seemingly would not matter, either, with the petition hoping to appeal to Trump’s authoritarian streak.
“As for the will of the citizens? Well, let’s face it – when has that ever stopped him?” the website reads. “If Trump wants to sell California, he’ll sell California.”
Donating to the petition comes with the satirical promise of a letter from the Danish Royal Family, a lifetime supply of Californian avocados, and a private beach in Malibu.
The sarcastic poll comes as Donald Trump continues to levy very real threats against Greenland.
The U.S. president has long claimed that the move is necessary to ensure national security, suggesting that Russia and China have their own plans to take control of the region.
However, Denmark has been insistent that it is committed to protecting the island, as have the U.K., the E.U., and Canada.
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has also been firm in saying that the self-governing territory wants to remain within the Danish Kingdom.
“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he said at a recent press conference, joined by Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Protests have erupted on the island in recent weeks, as residents hit back at the concept of a U.S. takeover.
A new trend parodying MAGA iconography has become popular among protesters, too, as many wear red hats with “Make America Great Again” replaced by “Make America Go Away.”
Shouts of “Greenland is not for sale” can be heard at marches, where demonstrators have been waving both the island’s flags and those of the Danish Kingdom.
The team behind the Denmarkification website say that they hope the campaign has brought more attention to the ongoing dispute over Greenland.
“What has really touched us the most so far though has been the hilarious (and often thoughtful) debate that Denmarkification sparked online, from Reddit threads to X/Twitter to TikTok comment sections,” a spokesperson for the website said. “We’ve been especially touched by lots of warm and enthusiastic support from Californians - and laughed when folks from other parts of the US raised their hand asking to have their state purchased by Denmark!
“It seems that a lot of people needed this little bit of fun and levity, at a time when much of the public discourse is increasingly tense and worrying,” the spokesperson continued. “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 says that the team has plans to create more satirical pages, although brainstorming sessions often turn into concerned discussions over the future of NATO and world peace.
For now, though, the team are managing the huge surge in interest generated by the petition.
“We are truly blown away and humbled by the amazing response from all over the world,” the spokesperson said. “We’ve received messages, requests for comments and interviews from so many leading media outlets, including TV broadcasters, radio stations and paper press.
“It’s been a little overwhelming - believe it or not, we’re not in the spotlight trying to buy a US State everyday!”
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