Greenland’s leader says the U.S. is being “very aggressive” ahead of a visit by U.S. second lady Usha Vance and appealed to the international community to push back on President Trump’s stated goal of annexing the Arctic island.
Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede said attempts at dialog with the Trump administration seem to backfire so Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory in the kingdom of Denmark, needs support from other allies.
“The very aggressive American pressure against Greenlandic society is now so serious that the level cannot be raised any higher,” he told the Sermitsiaq newspaper late Sunday.
Mrs. Vance and White House National Security Adviser Michael Waltz plan to go to Greenland from Thursday to Saturday to visit historic sites and learn about the island’s heritage.
Mrs. Vance and her son are scheduled to watch a national dogsled race.
Mr. Waltz will visit the Pituffik Space Base, formerly Thule Air Force Base, which supports missile warning and defense missions and space surveillance operations.
SEE ALSO: Second lady Usha Vance, National Security Adviser Michael Waltz to travel to Greenland
The base is operated by the U.S. Space Force under a defense agreement with Denmark.
Greenland is of strategic importance in the increasingly active Arctic region, particularly in competition with superpowers like Russia and China.
Mr. Trump has spoken openly about wanting to annex Greenland. His son, Donald Trump Jr., visited the island recently and other Trump supporters are courting the island.
Denmark has called for open cooperation, and Greenland sees sinister motives behind the latest visit.
“Until recently, we could safely trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we liked to work closely,” Mr. Egede said. “They have shown respect for us as a society, and we have established good cooperative relations that should last for many years.”
“But that time is over, we must admit,” he said. “Because the new American leadership is completely and utterly indifferent to what we have stood together on so far because now it is only a matter of them taking over our country over our heads.”
Mr. Trump said Monday the series of U.S. visits should not be seen as a “provocation.”
“We’re dealing with a lot of people from Greenland that would like to see something happen with respect to their being properly protected and properly taken care of,” Mr. Trump said at a Cabinet meeting.
Bringing Greenland into the American fold, Mr. Trump said, is “important from the standpoint of international security.”
Mr. Trump said Mrs. Vance “loves the concept of Greenland” and suggested Secretary of State Marco Rubio would visit the island.
Vice President J.D. Vance, speaking to Fox News, recently suggested Denmark wasn’t being a good ally and the U.S. might have to take a greater territorial interest in the island.
Rep. Don Bacon, Nebraska Republican, responded on X by saying Denmark has been a great ally in the Middle East and Ukraine.
“Greenland is also our ally. We have a great base there and they’re willing to partner more,” Mr. Bacon posted. “Let’s be a better ally and not a bully in our own right.”
• Mike Glenn contributed to this report.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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