Vice President JD Vance and other senior Trump administration officials arrived at a U.S. military base in Greenland on Friday − hundreds of miles away from any Greenlandic officials or a major civilian population.
Vance, his wife, Usha; national security adviser Mike Waltz; and Energy Secretary Chris Wright traveled to the Danish territory as President Donald Trump continues to openly talk about acquiring Greenland.
At the base, Vance cracked jokes about the cold and troops undertaking a “polar bear plunge,” a dunk in Greenland’s icy waters.
“As you’ve heard, we may have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration,” he told troops.
Back in Washington, Trump was more direct.
“We need Greenland, very importantly for international security,” he said in the Oval Office during Vance’s visit. “We have to have Greenland.”
“It’s not a question of, ‘Do you think we can do without it?’ We can’t.”
Speaking to reporters, Vance lashed out at Europe and Denmark, saying both “have not done their job in keeping Greenland safe.”
“We need to have more of a position in Greenland,” he said.
But Vance retreated from Trump’s past suggestions that the U.S. could take control of the island by force, saying Greelanders themselves would choose to split from Denmark.
“We think we’re going to be able to cut a deal, Donald Trump style.”
The visit has raised eyebrows.
Vance goes to Greenland: VP’s trip raises questions over Trump bid for island
Friday’s trip is a scaled-back version of an excursion that was supposed to see the second lady and one of the Vances’ sons attend cultural events, a dog-sledding race and spend time talking to Greenlanders in the capital Nuuk. The high-powered U.S. delegation revised its itinerary amid a backlash from Greenlandic and Danish officials because of Trump’s repeated comments.
Here’s what you need to know about the scrambled trip and what threatened to be a frosty reception.
Why did the U.S. change its Greenland plans?
The initial plan called for the second lady to visit the Avannaata Qimussersua, a popular dog-sled race, together with Waltz. But they were not invited by official authorities in either Greenland or Denmark. They were invited by a private sponsor of the race and the dog-sledding association. Officials in both places said the visit appeared like an effort to meddle in the island’s internal politics and rally support for closer U.S. ties.
Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede called the visit a “provocation,” partly because the territory had not yet, when the trip was announced, formed a new government after a March 11 election. A pro-business party that emerged as the winner of the vote formally announced a coalition on Friday, led by Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
What will the Vances do in Greenland now?
The American delegation was expected to fly directly to the U.S. Space Force base at Pituffik in the remote northern part of the Arctic island, about 750 miles from the North Pole. There, they will receive a briefing on security issues and meet with U.S. service members. The vice president will deliver remarks.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee and Waltz’s wife, Julia Nesheiwat, a former Department of Homeland Security advisor, were also on the trip, according to the White House. It was expected to be a day visit.
Pituffik Space Base has about 650 personnel. This includes U.S. Air Force and Space Force members, as well as Canadian, Danish and Greenlandic civilian contractors.
Some Greenlandic and Danish media reports suggested that one of the reasons why the White House downgraded the trip to a single day was because they had a hard time finding locals willing to greet the second lady. One travel agency based in Nuuk said it rescinded its offer to receive the second lady after initially saying it would.
“After closer consideration,” the travel agency based in Nuuk said in a Facebook post, “we have now informed the (U.S.) consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that of course, comes with it.” The firm added: “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
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There were also protests planned at the dog-sledding race, according to Martin Breum, a Danish journalist and author who specializes in Greenland and Arctic affairs and is currently in Nuuk. He said protesters intended to turn their backs at the second lady at the event Saturday in Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-largest city.
Why does Trump want to control Greenland?
A longstanding defense agreement between the U.S. and Denmark gave the U.S. the right to construct military bases in Greenland and move around the island freely, provided Denmark and Greenland are notified.
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But Trump says − and Denmark rejects − the U.S. needs to exert more control over the territory so it can expand a ballistic missile warning system capable of shooting down missiles from American adversaries.
Greenland also boasts mineral, oil and natural gas wealth. There are mining companies operating in Greenland. They are mostly Australian, Canadian or British. The White House wants more U.S. companies to operate in Greenland so they can provide the U.S. with so-called rare earth minerals used in the production of cellphones, electric vehicles and other technology and defense systems. The U.S. currently gets most of its rare earths from China.
Who invited the Vances to Greenland?
According to his own admission, it was Tom Dans, a former member of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission during Trump’s first presidency, who invited the U.S. delegation.
Dans runs a company called American Daybreak that promotes closer U.S.-Greenland business ties. He said the visit would help the Trump administration understand where it could collaborate further with Greenland.
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Dans was also a sponsor of the dog-sled race, along with the U.S. State Department, according to an NPR report.
The outlet said the State Department provided a grant to transport the dogs, sleds and racers by air from around Greenland for the race. NPR noted that the grant, which it reported was in the “range of tens of thousands of dollars,” came at a time when Secretary of State Marco Rubio has cancelled more than 80% of foreign aid grants.
