Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told the Danish ambassador that should his country opt to sell Greenland to the United States, there could be “mutual benefits.”

President Donald Trump is the latest U.S. leader to attempt to bring Greenland and its population of over 50,000 people among its territories. Cruz voiced his support for the endeavor on Fox News’s One Nation with Brian Kilmeade Saturday. The senator said he met with the Danish and Greenlandic ambassador over the matter.

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“I got to say the Danish ambassador, they were upset and they were offended and they said, ‘Greenland is not for sale,’ and I laughed, and I said, ‘You know what: everything is for sale,'” Cruz said. “But friends and allies can have conversations about things that are mutual benefits. What I told Denmark is, I said: ‘Ever since the president began talking about this, Greenland’s independence movement has been growing in momentum. And if Greenland declares itself independent of you, Denmark gets nothing. Denmark would be a lot better having a major financial investment for America.’”

Cruz cited Greenland’s “abundant rare earth minerals” as a reason in favor of making it a U.S. territory. The senator also explained Greenland is “ideally positioned to defend the United States” in the case of an attack from Russia or China via the Arctic Ocean.

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“For Greenland, there are roughly 50,000 Greenlanders living there right now, they are not living in wealth and abundance. If Greenland became American territory, they would become American citizens. That is an incredibly powerful inducement,” Cruz said.

Over 57% of respondents in a survey from Patriot Polling were in favor of Greenland becoming a state. Another 37.4% were against it with a remaining 5% undecided. Patriot Polling surveyed over 400 Greenlanders in its first international poll.