Visit from Usha Vance
Greenland fears “power demonstration” from Trump
Updated on 24.03.2025 – 04:06 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The wife of the US Vice President travels to Greenland – to visit the cultural heritage, as it is said. But they suspect something else on the island itself.
In Greenland there is resentment about visiting a high-ranking US delegation on the island. On Thursday, representatives of the Trump administration, led by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, will travel to the largest island in the world to visit an American military base, “to visit the cultural heritage and to live on the island’s largest dog sled races”, as it says on the side of the White House. The Usha Vance trip is officially considered a private trip. But obviously hardly anyone believes in that in Greenland.
“The only purpose is to show us a demonstration of power, and the signal must not be misunderstood,” he said. “He is Trump’s confidential and closest consultant, and his presence in Greenland alone will certainly make the Americans believe in Trump’s mission, and the pressure will increase after the visit,” said Greenland’s Prime Minister Múte Eggede of the newspaper “Sermitsiaq”.
In addition to Usha Vance, the USA Vance will also include the national security advisor of the White House, Mike Waltz, and Minister of Energy Chris Wright. The spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, Brian Hughes, said that the US team was “confident that this visit offers an opportunity to build partnerships that respect Greenland’s self-determination and promote economic cooperation”.
In Denmark you can see the visit critically. “This is something we take seriously,” said a message from the Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Denmark wants to work with the USA, but this cooperation should be based on the “basic rules of sovereignty”, she continued. The Danish government’s dialogue with the United States in Greenland will take place in close coordination with the future Greenland government.
Only 57,000 people live on the largest island in the world. Greenland has been autonomous in many areas since 1979, but the former colonial power of Denmark still decides on foreign and defense policy. The island has enormous undeveloped mineral resources. The economy depends on fishing and grants from Denmark.
A visit to the US delegation takes place against the background of the territorial claim of US President Donald Trump in Greenland. It was only last December that Trump had confirmed his wish to take control of the strategically important island. He had also not excluded the use of military or economic means. Denmark and Greenland reject this. Greenland said it was open to an agreement, but did not want to become part of the United States.
President son Donald Trump junior had already traveled to Greenland in January, officially also privately. Trump Junior only traveled to Nuuk for tourist reasons, the capital of the island, it was said at the time. But this visit was also controversial in Greenland and caused upset with Greenland and Danish political core.
