Vice President JD Vance accused the government of Denmark of “underinvesting” in Greenland while he was making a visit to an American military base on Friday in the Danish territory, which President Trump has repeatedly insisted should become part of the United States.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” he said.
Vance had traveled to Greenland along with his wife, Usha Vance, and a delegation of high-ranking Trump administration officials, including national security adviser Mike Waltz.
Usha Vance initially announced that she would travel to the island without her husband, but he joined the trip a few days later. The itinerary for the visit was also revised amid backlash from Greenlandic and Danish officials, including Múte Egede, Greenland’s former prime minister, who warned against “American aggression” after the trip was announced.
“We must … face the seriousness of the situation and acknowledge that every minute counts, to ensure that the Americans’ dream of annexing our country does not become a reality,” Egede told a local newspaper on Sunday.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has set his sights on annexing Greenland.
“We need Greenland,” he said on Friday. “It’s not a question of, ‘Do you think we can do without it?’ We can’t.”
For now, Greenland belongs to Denmark. Although the island was treated as a colony for hundreds of years, its citizens have had authority over what happens within its borders since the late 1970s. That freedom includes the power to decide whether it wants to remain a part of Denmark, join the U.S. or become an independent nation.
Trump first floated the concept of acquiring Greenland during his first presidential term, but there has been much more sustained focus on the concept since he returned to the White House in January.
His joint address to Congress earlier this month included a message “for the incredible people of Greenland” in which he said he strongly supports their “right to determine your own future.” But about 20 seconds later, he said he thinks the U.S. will acquire the territory “one way or another.” Earlier this year, he refused to rule out taking Greenland by force.
For their part, Greenlanders appear to have little interest in joining the U.S. voluntarily. Polls show that 85% of the island’s citizens oppose the idea, and nearly half of them see Trump’s interest in Greenland “as a threat.”
Egede has bluntly stated, “We don’t want to be Americans.” The island has new leadership, but its position on U.S. annexation won’t change. Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who was sworn in as Greenland’s new leader on Friday, is seeking a different path for his country.
“We want to be Greenlanders, and we want our own independence in the future,” he said earlier this month.
Greenland is not a major economic power, nor does it have a strong military to bolster U.S. forces. Its population is tiny and would clearly not welcome American ownership with open arms. So why does Trump want it so badly, to the point where he’s floated military action against a NATO ally to get it?
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