Donald Trump’s vice-president JD Vance’s visit to Greeland has been scaled back from original plans to tour the island after a row with the governments of both Greenland and Denmark
Donald Trump has declared the US “cannot do without Greenland” just hours after JD Vance controversially landed amid rising tensions. JD Vance, his wife and other senior US officials visited an American military base in Greenland today in a trip that was scaled back after an uproar among Greenlanders and Danes who were unhappy that the original itinerary was planned without consulting them.
Soon after arriving, Vance briefly addressed US troops stationed at the base as he and his wife sat down to lunch with them, saying that the Trump administration is very interested in “Arctic security.” “As you all know, it’s a big issue and it’s only going to get bigger over the coming decades,” Vance said, noting that he was the first US vice president to visit Greenland.
Trump, in a press conference just a few hours after Vance landed in Greenland, told reporters of America’s “need” for the island. He said: “We need Greenland … it’s not a question of, ‘Do you think we can do without it?” We can’t.”
Vance’s revised trip to the semi-autonomous Danish territory came as relations between the US and Nordic countries soured after Trump repeatedly suggested that the States should control the mineral-rich territory.
The US president’s hostile view stems from his demand that control of Greenland is essential “for national security and international security”. Today’s one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, removed the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos by sending a delegation to another country without an official invitation.
It also reduced the likelihood that Vance and his wife would cross paths with residents angered by Trump’s annexation announcements. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Tuesday that the visit, which was initially set for three days, created “unacceptable pressure”.
On Thursday, Danish public broadcaster DR quoted her as saying: “We really want to work with the Americans on defence and security in the kingdom. But Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
Earlier this week, it was announced that the US vice president’s wife, Usha Vance, would spend several days on the island, visiting the capital Nuuk and attending cultural events like a popular annual dogsled race. The White House later said the vice-president would join his wife but that the couple would only spend a day there visiting the US Pituffik Space Base.
