Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted that President Donald Trump’s talk about buying Greenland “is not a joke.” “This is not about acquiring land for the purpose of acquiring land,” Rubio said in an interview on Thursday with Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland and retake control of the Panama Canal is driven by legitimate national security interests stemming from growing concerns about Chinese activity in the Arctic and in Latin America.

Denmark said on Friday it meant seriously that Greenland is not for sale, after Secretary of State Marco Rubio said U.S. President Donald Trump's interest in acquiring the island was "not a joke". Trump says he will make the autonomous territory of Denmark a part of the United States,

"This is in our national interest and it needs to be solved," Rubio said. Greenland's prime minister has repeatedly said the island is not for sale.

The secretary of State said purchasing the Danish territory is important to the country’s national interests in the Arctic.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called President Trump's desire to buy Greenland in the "the national interest" of the U.S. during an interview Thursday. The big picture: Trump has doubled down on his push for Greenland since winning the presidential election,