Greenland's leader laments ‘mess' as US vice president's wife to visit island coveted by Trump

Boston Globe

24-03-2025

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Denmark is a NATO ally of the United States, and Greenland already houses a US military base.
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Security stepped up
Danish national police on Sunday sent extra personnel and sniffer dogs to Greenland as part of regular security measures taken during visits by dignitaries. Citing office procedure, police spokesman René Gyldensten declined to specify the number of extra police flown in. News reports put the number at dozens.
Before the president began his second term in January, a visit by Trump's eldest son heightened concerns in Greenland about possible US ambitions. Donald Trump Jr. told residents of Greenland that 'we're going to treat you well' — weeks before March 11 elections that had centered on possible independence from Denmark.
Greenlandic news outlet Sermitsiaq posted images of two US Hercules workhorse military aircraft on the tarmac Sunday in Nuuk, the capital, adding that the planes later departed. News reports said four bulletproof cars had also been flown in.
On her visit, Vance will attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland's national dogsled race, featuring about 37 mushers and 444 dogs, her office said. The statement said Vance and the US delegation 'are excited to witness this monumental race and celebrate Greenlandic culture and unity.'
Media outlets in Greenland and Denmark reported that Vance would be accompanied by Trump's national security adviser, Mike Waltz. The White House and the National Security Council did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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Greenland is also in the process of political transition. The pro-business Demokraatit party, which favors a slow path to independence, won a surprise victory in the elections, outpacing the two left-leaning parties that formed the last government.
Greenland's likely next leader calls for unity
Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede, whose party trailed Demokraatit in the elections but who remains in the post until a new government is formed, acknowledged Sunday on Facebook that there is worry in Greenland.
The visit of 'the wife of the United States vice president and the United States president's highest security adviser cannot be seen only as a private visit,' he said. 'We can already see now, how big a mess it's caused.'
Egede said there would be no meetings with the US visitors because a new government has yet to be formed.
In an interview in Sermitsiaq, he was quoted as saying that if allied countries 'do not speak out loudly about how the USA is treating Greenland, the situation will escalate day by day, and the American aggression will increase.'
'So we need our other allies to clearly and distinctly come with their support and backing for us,' he said, adding that 'the only purpose' of a trip by Waltz 'is to show a demonstration of power to us, and the signal is not to be misunderstood.'
'We have been treated unacceptably,' he wrote on his Facebook account.
The likely next Greenlandic leader, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, sought to calm nerves and said he was working on building a new coalition government 'with the clear goal of creating security for our country and our people.'
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'I know that many are following closely what is happening these days. I understand if anyone feels uneasy,' he wrote on Facebook. 'When foreign dignitaries travel to our country on what are called private visits, it rightly causes concern.'
He added that: 'There is no reason to panic. But there is good reason to stand together and to demand respect. I do. And I will continue to do so.'
Denmark says sovereignty must be respected
Trump had mused during his first term about buying the world's largest island, even as Denmark insisted it wasn't for sale. The people of Greenland have also firmly rejected Trump's plans.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly said that the US will come to control Greenland while insisting he supports the idea for strategic national security reasons — not with an eye toward American expansionism.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, in a statement Sunday reported by Danish broadcaster DR, insisted 'the visit from the United States cannot be viewed independently of the public statements that have been made.'
'We want to cooperate with the Americans. But it must be a cooperation based on the fundamental values of sovereignty and respect between countries and peoples,' she was quoted as saying.
In Brussels a spokesperson for the European Commission said the 27-member European Union, to which Denmark belongs, said international borders must be respected.
'The European Union and fully supports and stands with the Kingdom of Denmark,' Anitta Hipper said.
'We will continue to uphold the principles of national sovereignty, the territorial integrity of our borders, and the UN charter. These are universal principles that we stand by, and we will not stop defending them, all the more so if the territorial integrity of our member States of the European Union is questioned,' Hipper added.
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Trump is focused on Greenland because it straddles strategic air and sea routes in the North Atlantic and is home to the US's Pituffik Space Base, which supports missile warning and space surveillance operations.
Greenland, whose population of 56,000 people are mostly from Indigenous Inuit backgrounds, also has large deposits of the rare-earth minerals needed to make everything from mobile phones to renewable energy technology.