Saint Jean de-Luz, France. Two minutes after President Donald Trump arrived here for the G-7 meeting, he tweeted another anti-Denmark message, this time one with some clout.
"By Executive Order, I hereby expel all students from Denmark who are attending American universities. Now, let Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen call that 'absurd'."
Frederiksen had previously denigrated Trump's offer to buy Greenland as absurd, causing Trump to cancel a planned meeting with her after the G-7 is over.
The number of Danish students studying in the U. S. who will be affected by Trump's order is so small, that the number does not appear on the usual charts, but the American embassy in Copenhagen recently issued a press release attempting to encourage Danes planning to attend American colleges. In light of Trump's tweet, that press release has already been recalled.
Surprisingly, the Danish ministry of higher education had previously announced that the number of American students studying science or engineering in Denmark would be cut to 1,000 because so few of them chose to remain in Denmark after earning their degrees. Those in the lucky 1,000 now wonder if that number will be cut to zero in light of Trump's tweet.
Trump's original plan to expel over 300,000 Chinese students in retaliation against Chinese tariffs was scrapped. The Danes expulsion may be a face-saving move on Trump's part.
