Vice President JD Vance and second girl Usha Vance as seen on the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on Feb. 11, 2025.
Ian Langsdon/AFP
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Ian Langsdon/AFP
Vice President JD Vance mentioned on Tuesday that he would be a part of his spouse, second girl Usha Vance, on a visit to Greenland this week after an earlier announcement of her plans for a cultural go to to the Danish territory acquired an icy reception.
The journey comes as President Trump has continued to muse concerning the United States annexing Greenland, a territory managed by Denmark. Greenland and Denmark have each repeatedly emphasised that Greenland is just not on the market.
The Vances will go to U.S. service members on the Pituffik Area Base on Friday and obtain a briefing on Arctic safety points, in keeping with the White Home.
Vance mentioned in a video posted on social media that he wished to “just check out what’s going on with the security there.”
“A lot of other countries have threatened Greenland, have threatened to use its territories and its waterways to threaten the United States, to threaten Canada, and of course, to threaten the people of Greenland, so we’re going to check out how things are going there,” Vance mentioned.
Properties in Nuuk, Greenland, as seen on March 24, 2025. Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede accused Washington of interfering in its affairs after second girl Usha Vance and different U.S. officers mentioned they’d go to the Danish territory.
Juliette Pavy/AFP
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Juliette Pavy/AFP
The unique itinerary concerned a dogsled race
The renewed consideration on Greenland kicked off on Sunday. Usha Vance introduced that she and one among her younger sons would go to Greenland to see cultural and historic websites, and attend the nationwide dogsled race — and the White Home had mentioned that nationwide safety adviser Mike Waltz would go to a U.S. navy base on the island.
Usha Vance had acquired “multiple invitations” to attend the dogsled race — and the top of a dogsledding affiliation had requested her to wave the flag to open the race, her communications director Nikki Reeves mentioned, citing conversations between the U.S. consulate and occasion organizers.
However different Greenlandic leaders had expressed issues. The territory’s Prime Minister Mute Egede mentioned in a Fb submit that there can be no conferences between U.S. officers and authorities officers in Greenland through the go to.
At a cupboard assembly Monday, Trump rejected the notion that the deliberate visits have been in any manner confrontational.
“This is friendliness, not provocation. We’re dealing with a lot of people from Greenland that would like to see something happen with respect to them being properly protected and properly taken care of. They’re calling us. We’re not calling them,” Trump mentioned on Monday.
Vance workplace chides Denmark and previous U.S. leaders for ‘neglect and inaction’
The vice chairman’s workplace mentioned in a press release on Tuesday that Trump is “rightly changing course” on the safety of Greenland — and criticized Denmark and former U.S. presidents for not paying extra consideration.
“The strategic partnership between the United States and Greenland has long played a vital role in our national and economic security. During World War Two, the United States established over a dozen military bases in Greenland to defend the North Atlantic from Nazi incursion. During the Cold War, the United States committed additional resources to Greenland to defend against Soviet missile attacks,” the assertion mentioned.
“In the decades since, neglect and inaction from Danish leaders and past U.S. administrations have presented our adversaries with the opportunity to advance their own priorities in Greenland and the Arctic.”
