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Former President\u00a0Donald Trump<\/strong>\u00a0had wanted Greenland, a Danish autonomous country, to be a part of the United States, but the idea apparently came from cosmetics heir,\u00a0Ronald Lauder.<\/strong><\/p>\n What Happened:<\/strong>\u00a0The revelation was made in the upcoming book \u201cThe Divider: Trump in the White House, 2017-2021,\u201d authored by\u00a0Susan Glasser<\/strong>\u00a0of The New Yorker magazine and chief White House correspondent of The New York Times\u00a0Peter Barker.<\/strong><\/p>\n The\u00a0Est\u00e9e Lauder\u00a0<\/strong>heir was behind the notion, according to Barker, who wrote a\u00a0piece<\/a>\u00a0for the Times on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cA friend of mine, a really, really experienced businessman, thinks we can get Greenland,\u201d Trump told his national security adviser, according to Barker.<\/p>\n Lauder reportedly had known Trump since college, and the former president\u2019s request led to the formation of a special team to look into obtaining the Danish Arctic territory.<\/p>\n See Also:\u00a0<\/em>The Saga Of Trump’s Bizarre Bid For Greenland<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Why It Matters:<\/strong>\u00a0Baker wrote that Lauder discussed Greenland with Trump from the early days of his presidency and offered his services for negotiations with the Danish government.<\/p>\n Trump-era national security adviser,\u00a0John Bolton<\/strong>, delegated his aide to create a small team to brainstorm ideas, and they engaged in secret talks with Denmark\u2019s ambassador and produced an options memo, according to the author.<\/p>\n In an interview for the book, Trump reportedly claimed the idea was his, saying, “I\u2019m a real estate developer. I look at a corner, I say, \u2018I\u2019ve got to get that store for the building that I\u2019m building’ … It\u2019s not that different.”<\/p>\n Trump had also suggested swapping Puerto Rico for Greenland after first taking federal funds from the Caribbean territory to fund the purchase of the world\u2019s largest island.<\/p>\n In August 2021, Denmark Prime Minister\u00a0Mette Frederiksen<\/strong>\u00a0said Greenland was\u00a0not for sale<\/a>, which led to the cancellation of Trump\u2019s visit to the Kingdom.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since his loss in the 2020 Presidential election to\u00a0Joe Biden<\/strong>, Trump has continued to allege that the event was rigged, and on Thursday called the United States a \u201cThird World Country” on Truth Social.<\/p>\n Screenshot From Donald Trump’s Truth Social<\/em><\/p>\n Truth Social is owned by Trump Media & Technology Group<\/strong> (TMTG), a company set to go public after merging with Digital World Acquisition Corp<\/strong> DWAC<\/span>.<\/p>\n Read Next: <\/em>Trump Says US ‘Laughing Stock All Over The World’ As Supporter ‘Pillow Guy’ Mike Lindell Alleges FBI Seized His Phone<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n