Danish diplomats have celebrated Vice President JD Vance‘s choice to scale back the U.S.’s visit to Greenland this week.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, told public broadcaster DR, “It’s very positive that the Americans have cancelled their visit among Greenlandic society.”
The original visit was supposed to include a U.S. delegation led by Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, to Greenlandic cultural sites. Now, the Vice President has said he will join the trip but will only visit the U.S. military base on the semi-autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Main: Christian Klindt Soelbeck, Inset: Mark Schiefelbein, file/Main: Ritzau Scanpix via AP, Inset: AP Photo
Why It Matters
Earlier this week, the government of Greenland said that the Second Lady and the U.S. delegation to Greenland were not invited to visit their nation by the government, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claims that people from Greenland “are asking us to go there.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also criticized the trip, saying it placed “unacceptable pressure” on Denmark and Greenland.
What To Know
On Sunday, March 23, the White House announced that Usha Vance would be traveling to Greenland alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz for a sightseeing trip on March 27.
This announcement came after Vice President JD Vance said that the U.S. may need to “take more territorial interest in Greenland,” and after President Donald Trump told Congress that he wants to take over the mineral-rich island “one way or another.”
In response to the trip, outgoing Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede said: “There will be no meetings between the guests and the incumbent Naalakkersuisut [Government of Greenland]. The Americans have also been clearly told that there can only be meetings once a new Naalakkersuisut has taken office. In addition, it must also be said that our integrity and democracy must be respected without any outside interference.”
Vance’s plan to visit with a delegation was met with anger not just from politicians and diplomats but also from citizens of Greenland.
This was made evident after a hat made by a Greenlandic man with “Make America Go Away” embroidered on it went viral online.
Aannguaq Reimer-Johansen, the man who made the hat, said he made it to spread the message that Greenlandic people do not want to be a part of the USA and do not want to engage in what he saw as a “charm offensive” trip from Vance.
Greenland is in a political state of flux following its election earlier this month. The election was won by the island’s center-right Demokraatit party, which campaigned on gradual independence from Denmark and a refusal to join the U.S.
Demokraatit party leader Jens-Friederik Nielsen told Sky News: “We don’t want to be Americans.”
The U.S. Government has now changed its plans. Now, Vice President Vance is traveling alongside his wife, but they will only visit the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland, a U.S.-owned Space Force base on the northwest coast of the island.
He has said his trip is intended to “just check out what’s going on with the security there.”
According to Løkke Rasmussen, many cars from the previous U.S. security detail are being sent back home. He also told DR that he believes the VP’s focus on security is “spin.”
Christian Klindt Soelbeck/Ritzau Scanpix via AP
What People Are Saying
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen: “I think it’s very positive that the Americans have canceled their visit among Greenlandic society. They will only visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that.”
Vice President JD Vance: “A lot of other countries have threatened Greenland, have threatened to use its territories and its waterways to threaten the United States, to threaten Canada, and of course, to threaten the people of Greenland, so we’re going to check out how things are going there.”
What Happens Next
The Vances are expected to visit the Space Force base on March 27. It is unclear at this time whether they will be joined by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz as originally planned.
