Lars Lokke Rasmussen (File photo: VCG)

COPENHAGEN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Lars Lokke Rasmussen, former Prime Minister of Denmark until June 2019 has stepped into U.S. President Donald Trump's row with Denmark.

In a tweet Wednesday night, Trump continued his attacks on Denmark with criticism of the financial side of the Scandinavian country's contribution to NATO.

"For the record, Denmark is only at 1.35% of GDP for NATO spending. They are a wealthy country and should be at 2%. We protect Europe and yet, only 8 of the 28 NATO countries are at the 2% mark. The United States is at a much, much higher level than that...." tweeted the American president.

In response, Rasmussen tweeted back: "And - as I told you at the NATO Summit in Bruxelles last year - we have had (proportionally) exactly the same numbers of casualties in Afghanistan as the US. We always stand firm and ready - so we will not accept that our defence willingness is only about percentages."

Donald Trump said Tuesday a scheduled meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been postponed after she stonewalled his unofficial bid to purchase Greenland.

In a stern response, Frederiksen called the idea "absurd," triggering a backlash from Trump.