Trump's Ally Vance Heads to Greenland Amidst Growing Outrage over Bid for Control
** by FatChilli ** ** Published: Friday
- Add a comment
US Vice President JD Vance is touching down on Greenland today, sparking controversy as Copenhagen and Nuuk view his visit as a provocation amidst President Donald Trump's bid to annex the Danish territory.
Accompanying Vance are National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, expected to participate as well, according to reports on Friday.
Trump stepped up on Wednesday, arguing the United States needed the vast Arctic island for national and international security, even going so far as to refuse to rule out the use of force to secure it. "We have to have it," he insisted.
Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have made it clear that Trump's dream of annexation will not happen. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen voiced her disapproval earlier this week, calling the visit by a US delegation uninvited "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and Denmark.
Greenland's outgoing Prime Minister Mute B.Egede echoed those sentiments, while his expected successor following elections this month, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, called it a "lack of respect" for Greenland amid negotiations to form a new government. Egede termed it "external interference".
The original tour plan, which would have included a dog sled race in Sisimiut and the capital Nuuk, was scaled back to the US-run Pituffik Space Base in the northwest of the island, following reports of planned demonstrations against the United States in the two Greenlandic towns. Reports also emerged that the Nuuk Art Museum rejected a visit from Usha Vance, and that US representatives knocking on doors of local residents in the capital to ask if they wanted to be visited by the second lady were also roundly rejected.
Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen expressed hope Vance would get a good briefing on Greenland during his visit to Pituffik. "Because the level of knowledge on this issue needs to be improved," Løkke explained to reporters in Copenhagen on Thursday.
Given the long history of US-Greenland relations marked by geopolitical interests and failed annexation attempts, some analysts view the visit as a step towardscontinuing this legacy.
JD Vance, who will meet with US Space Force members at Pituffac, is reportedly there to "check out what's going on with the security" of Greenland.
Back in early February, Vance angered Danes when he claimed Denmark was "not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally." A fuming Mette Frederiksen quickly retorted, stating Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans "for many, many decades," including in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In response to the tensions, a demonstration against the Trump administration's approach to Greenland has been organized in Copenhagen this weekend. The protest, arranged by a small group of Danes and Greenlanders, is intended to show solidarity with Greenland amid Trump's pursuit of the territory.
"We want to express our sympathy and make it clear that this is not acceptable. It is a blatant violation," said Karen Littauer, one of the demonstration's organizers. "We will always be connected [Denmark and Greenland, ed.], even when Greenland eventually becomes independent," she added. The event will take place on Saturday from noon to 2 pm in front of the American embassy in Østerbro, Copenhagen.
Enrichment Data:
- The history of US-Greenland relations centers on geopolitical interests and failed annexation attempts, marked by strategic military arrangements and enduring tensions.
- Early US interest in Greenland dates back to proposals as early as 1867 and 1910, linked to territorial swaps.
- During WWII, the US assumed de facto control of Greenland, establishing military bases that remain operational, and rejecting a $100 million offer from Denmark in 1946 to buy the island.
- The 1951 Greenland Defense Agreement formalized US military access, including Thule Air Base.
- Controversial US plans for Greenland in the past include Project Iceworm, the secret construction of nuclear missile sites under Greenland’s ice (1960–1966), and the 1968 Thule Crash in which a B-52 carrying nuclear weapons contaminated the area, with one bomb still unaccounted for.
- In the modern era, tensions persist over Greenland's dependency on Denmark versus its role in NATO's Arctic strategy. The forced relocation of Inuit communities for Thule’s expansion, and unresolved radiation risks remain contentious.
- JD Vance, the US Vice President, is intending to characterise Greenland's security situation during his visit to the Pituffik Space Base.
- The proposed visit of Usha Vance to the Nuuk Art Museum was roundly rejected, adding to the general tensions surrounding JD Vance's trip.
- The visit of a US delegation, headed by JD Vance, is intended to show solidarity with Greenland amidst President Trump's annexation push, according to demonstration organizers in Copenhagen.
- Energy Secretary Chris Wright is expected to participate in the discussions with JD Vance in Greenland, highlighting the political aspect of the trip, with an underlying interest in the island's energy resources.
- Reports suggest that political briefings will be provided to JD Vance during his visit to Pituffik, with Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen hoping to improve the visiting party's knowledge of Greenland and its complex history.
- The rejection of a visit by Usha Vance, coupled with planned demonstrations against the United States in Greenlandic towns, has led to a change in JD Vance's itinerary, scaling back the original plans to include a dog sled race and capital visits.
