Denmark welcomes the US decision to scale back its visit to Greenland, hailing it as a sign of de-escalation after a diplomatic row sparked by the planned trip.
The Trump administration‘s decision to scale back an unsolicited visit to Greenland has been welcomed by Denmark as a sign that the US is ‘de-escalating’ after the planned trip sparked a diplomatic row with the Arctic island and Denmark.
A Diplomatic Row Over the Visits
Greenland, a former Danish colony, is now a semi-autonomous territory within the kingdom of Denmark, but its foreign and security policies are run by Copenhagen. The US delegation was originally led by the White House national security adviser, Mike Waltz, and including the vice-president’s wife, Usha Vance, visiting the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, and a dog sled race.
However, after strong public statements opposing the visit from Greenland’s prime minister, Múte B Egede, and his Danish counterpart, Mette Frederiksen, it was announced that the trip would be more contained in scale and feature only a visit to the island’s US military base, Pituffik. The vice-president, JD Vance, said on Tuesday he would be joining his wife on the trip.
Mette Frederiksen is a Danish politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Denmark since 2019.
Born on November 19, 1977, in Aalborg, Denmark, she rose to prominence within the Social Democratic Party.
As Prime Minister, she has focused on issues such as 'climate change, immigration, and economic reform.'
Frederiksen is also known for her commitment to social welfare policies and women's rights.
With a background in political science, she has been an active member of parliament since 2007.
A Change of Plans
The change of plans was claimed as a diplomatic victory by Copenhagen and Nuuk, which is now being led by a caretaker government while coalition talks continue after a general election earlier this month. Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that ‘the Americans are cancelling their visit to the Greenlandic community. Then they will instead make a visit to their own base, Pituffik, and we have nothing against that.’
US Intentions
Announcing that he would be joining his wife on the trip to Greenland, vice-president Vance said in a video on X: ‘Speaking for president Trump, we want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think it’s important to protecting the security of the entire world.‘ Drew Horn, who worked in various roles in the first Trump administration and is now an investor in Greenlandic minerals, said that the US government’s intentions for the trip had been ‘manipulated and misrepresented‘.
JD Vance is an American author, lawyer, and politician.
Born in 1984 in Middletown, Ohio, he grew up in a troubled home with a mother struggling with addiction.
Vance's memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy' chronicles his experiences growing up poor in Appalachia.
He graduated from Yale Law School and served in the US Marine Corps.
Vance is now a successful author and politician, serving as a US Senator-elect for Ohio.
A Masterful Spin
Rasmussen was speaking on Wednesday, as US planes were preparing to take off from Nuuk airport after reportedly being loaded with bulletproof cars that had been delivered in preparation for the visit. He added: ‘It’s kind of a masterful spin in many ways, to make it look like they’re escalating when they’re actually de-escalating.‘
Lars Løkke Rasmussen is a Danish politician who served as the Prime Minister of Denmark from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2015 to 2019.
Lars Løkke Rasmussen was born on January 15, 1964, in Vejle, Denmark, he has been a member of the Liberal Party since 1988.
Rasmussen's tenure as Prime Minister was marked by significant economic reforms and efforts to strengthen Denmark's position within the European Union.
