So here's a classic case of two sides walking out of the same meeting with completely different stories.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that when a delegation from Denmark and Greenland met with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, everyone agreed to "continue to have technical talks on the acquisition of Greenland." She doubled down on President Donald Trump's stated goal of acquiring the Arctic territory for national security reasons.

Denmark's foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, had a different take. Speaking to The New York Times on Thursday, he clarified that what they actually agreed to was forming a high-level working group to find common ground on regional interests. That's diplomatically quite different from "acquisition talks." He added a pretty firm condition: if the U.S. doesn't respect Denmark's territorial integrity and what Greenlanders actually want, these discussions won't "be successful."

Before the Washington meeting even happened, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen made their position clear by stating they'd choose Denmark over the U.S. After Wednesday's sit-down, the Danish Foreign Minister described the conversation as "frank but constructive," while acknowledging a "fundamental disagreement" with the U.S. over the whole Greenland acquisition idea.

Ackman Sees Historic Deal Potential

While diplomats navigate this delicate situation, billionaire investor Bill Ackman is getting excited about what he's calling a potentially massive real estate transaction. The Pershing Square Capital Management CEO posted on X late Thursday that the U.S. is on the verge of a 22% growth in territory, which would be the largest expansion in American history.

Ackman was responding to a post from prediction market Kalshi about the U.S. and Denmark establishing a working committee for "technical talks" on purchasing Greenland. According to Kalshi, about 42% of bettors predict Trump will actually acquire Greenland before his term ends in January 2029.

But Ackman's interest goes beyond just the size of the deal. He's thinking about climate change as a catalyst for Greenland's value. He described Greenland as a "great play on global warming," pointing to the territory's potential as a source of rare earth minerals and new shipping routes that could open up as Arctic ice melts. In his view, these factors could make Greenland an increasingly valuable strategic asset in the coming decades.

Whether these "technical talks" (or whatever we're calling them) lead anywhere remains to be seen. What's clear is that Denmark and the U.S. aren't exactly on the same page about what's being discussed, let alone agreed to.