US Vice President JD Vance has now said he will join his wife Usha on her highly contentious visit to Greenland later this week, a decision that added fuel to the diplomatic fire while revealing major changes to the United States\u2019 itinerary on the Arctic island. <\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Tuesday accused the US of putting \u201cunacceptable pressure\u201d on Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory coveted by the Trump administration. The White House had previously said that the second lady would visit the island to attend one of the world\u2019s foremost dog-sledding races. <\/p>\n
Vance then appeared to ramp up that pressure by announcing that he would accompany Usha to Greenland because he \u201cdidn\u2019t want her to have all this fun by herself.\u201d <\/p>\n
But beneath the bravado lay a significant change of plan. The second lady had been set to watch Greenland\u2019s national dogsled race and visit several parts of the island, but the Vances are now only set to travel to the Pituffik Space Base, a US military facility on the island\u2019s western fringe on Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to visit some of our guardians in the space force on the northwest coast of Greenland, and also just check out what\u2019s going on with the security there of Greenland,\u201d Vance said in a video on X. <\/p>\n
Whereas the White House said earlier that Usha Vance\u2019s trip would \u201ccelebrate Greenlandic culture and unity,\u201d a statement from the vice president\u2019s office Tuesday only made mention of the Pituffik base, saying that the Vances would be receive a briefing on Arctic security issues and meet with US service members. <\/p>\n
Also absent from the later statement was mention of Mike Waltz, the national security adviser who had been set to join the second lady on her visit. Waltz has since become embroiled in an extraordinary security breach after it emerged he had added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine to a Signal group chat where senior officials planned military strikes in Yemen. <\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Danish foreign minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen welcomed the change of plans from the US. <\/p>\n
\u201cI actually think it\u2019s very positive that the Americans are canceling their visit to Greenlandic society. Instead, they will visit their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that,\u201d Rasmussen told Danish public radio, DR. <\/p>\n
\u201dThe short of it is that\u2026 there will be no visit from the US Vice President\u2019s wife and their security advisor to the Greenlandic community,\u201d Rasmussen said. <\/p>\n
The foreign minister said the US was attempting to make it appear it was ramping up pressure on Greenland by sending the vice president, when the trip is now much more marginal. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have to speak diplomatically here, but in many ways it\u2019s a masterful spin to make it look like they\u2019re escalating when really they\u2019re de-escalating,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The White House did not explain the change of plans for a visit that many Greenlanders have said they do not want. US President Donald Trump said Monday that \u201cpeople from Greenland are asking us to go there,\u201d but the island\u2019s prime minister, Mute B. Egede, called the trip \u201chighly aggressive,\u201d and Greenlanders have staged protests outside the US consulate in the capital, Nuuk. <\/p>\n
Greenland\u2019s government \u2013 called the Naalakkersuisut \u2013 said \u201cIt has not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official.\u201d The island\u2019s lawmakers are currently undertaking tricky negotiations to form its next governing coalition after an election earlier this month. <\/p>\n
The US has operated the Pituffik base under a NATO framework since 1951, following a defense agreement with Denmark, a founding member of the military alliance. <\/p>\n
In his video, Vance said the Trump administration wants to \u201creinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland,\u201d accusing Denmark and previous US presidents of \u201cignoring\u201d the island \u201cfor far too long.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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