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The White House has announced that Vice President J.D. Vance will be joining his wife, Usha Vance, in the U.S. delegation that is traveling to Greenland this week — and that the itinerary for that trip has shifted after it sparked outrage among Greenlanders.
Initially, Usha Vance was scheduled to visit Greenlandic heritage sites and the territory’s national dogsled race. Instead, she will now join the vice president — who was not previously planning on attending the trip — and U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz on a visit to Pituffik Space Base, located in the northernmost region of the island. The military base is far from any major Greenlandic settlements, reducing the likelihood that the delegation will cross paths with Greenlanders who are angered by Trump’s calls for the island to be annexed into the U.S.
Usha Vance’s initial travel plans were condemned by political leaders in Greenland, who viewed the move as a provocation by the Trump administration as the president floated the idea of buying the island. The plans were also denounced by Denmark, which still has territorial claim to the semi-autonomous country.
Danish officials expressed relief at the change in plans, with Denmark Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen calling the new agenda “a de-escalation” and a “very positive outcome.”
The changes come after Greenlanders held several protests in the days preceding the Washington delegation’s planned visit. Locals had also planned to demonstrate against Usha Vance when she arrived.
Although the change in the itinerary has cooled things down, many Greenland politicians have expressed frustration with the U.S. sending an uninvited delegation to the island immediately after Greenland’s elections, as negotiations to form a new government are still underway.
“What is the [U.S.] security advisor doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to show a demonstration of power to us,” outgoing Prime Minister Mute Egede said earlier this week.
“The fact that the Americans are well aware we are in the middle of negotiations once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people,” said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Demokraatit party and the likely next prime minister.
Indeed, in J.D. Vance’s announcement that he’d be joining his wife in Greenland, he subtly pushed the idea of territorial expansionism on the country.
“Leaders in America and in Denmark ignored Greenland for far too long and that’s been bad for Greenland. It’s also been bad for the security of the entire world. We think we can take things in a different direction so I’m gonna go check it out,” the vice president said in a video on X.
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