'Danish Viking blood is boiling': Danes boycott US goods with fervour as others in Europe do so too
‘I have never seen Danes so upset’
For Bo Albertus, "when Trump went on television and said he would by political force or military force take a piece of the Danish kingdom, it was just too much for me.”
The 57-year-old said he felt powerless and had to do something. He has given up Pepsi, Colgate toothpaste, Heinz ketchup and California wine, and replaced them with European products.
He is now an administrator of the Danish Facebook page “Boykot varer fra USA” (Boycott goods from the U.S.), which has swelled to over 80,000 members.
“Drink more champagne,” one user posted after Trump threatened 200% tariffs on EU wine and Champagne.
Albertus, a school principal, told the AP he really misses the strong taste of Colgate. But he's been pleasantly surprised at finding a cola replacement that is half the price of Pepsi.
Trump's policies have “brought the Danish Viking blood boiling,” said Jens Olsen, an electrician and carpenter. He is now considering replacing $10,000 worth of U.S.-made DeWalt power tools even though it will cost him a lot.
He has already found European replacements for an American popcorn brand and California-made Lagunitas IPA beer, which he calls “the best in the world.”
“I’ve visited the brewery several times, but now I don’t buy it anymore,” he said. He has mixed feelings because he is a dual Danish-U.S. citizen, and has spent a lot of time in the United States. But he can't contain his anger.
“I’m 66 years old and I have never seen the Danes so upset before,” he said.
Michael Ramgil Stæhr has canceled a fall trip to the U.S. and is among many choosing to buy Danish instead of American-made, though he cannot pinpoint the exact moment he made the decision.
“Maybe it was when (Trump) announced to the world press that he intended to ‘take’ Greenland and the Panama Canal, and if necessary by military force. That and the gangster-like behavior towards the Ukrainian president in the White House,” the 53-year-old Copenhagen resident said.
“The man is deadly dangerous and is already costing lives” in the developing world and Ukraine, added Stæhr, who works helping disabled war veterans, many of whom got injured serving alongside U.S. troops in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. He himself served in Bosnia.
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