President Donald Trump yesterday doubled down on his suggestion that the US should take over Greenland as leaders from the semi-autonomous Danish territory criticised a planned trip there this week by a high-profile US delegation.
“I think Greenland is going to be something that maybe is in our future,” Trump told reporters after a meeting with officials in his Cabinet, saying it was important for US national security.
Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede called plans by the US delegation to visit an American military base and attend a dog sled race a “provocation”, and said his caretaker government would not meet with the group.
Trump said his administration was working with “people in Greenland” who want something to happen, but did not elaborate.
“They’re calling us,” he said. “We’re not calling them.”
The US visit, which runs from Thursday to Saturday, will be led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, and include White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Trump has made US annexation of Greenland a major talking point since his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, paid a private visit to the vast, mineral-rich island in January.
“Until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working closely,” Egede told local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “But that time is over.”
Naalakkersuisut, the Greenlandic government, is now in a caretaker phase following a March 11 parliamentary election won by the Democrats, a pro-business party that favours a slow approach to independence from Denmark.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Democrats, called for political unity and criticized the timing of the US visit during coalition talks with municipal elections due next week.
“We must not be forced into a power game that we ourselves have not chosen to be a part of,” Nielsen said yesterday.
Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council, said the visit aimed to “build on partnerships that respect Greenland’s self-determination and advance economic cooperation”.
“This is a visit to learn about Greenland, its culture, history, and people and to attend a dogsled race the US is proud to sponsor, plain and simple,” Hughes said.
Two US Hercules military transport planes arrived in Greenland’s capital Nuuk late on Sunday, carrying security personnel and bulletproof vehicles, Greenlandic online news outlet Sermitsiaq reported.
Waltz and Wright plan to visit the Pituffik space base, the US military base located along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for its ballistic missile warning system.
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