A private trip to Greenland by Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, continued to roil feathers in both the mother nation, Denmark, and in Greenland, with the leaders of both countries denouncing it as unwanted U.S. pressure. The issue is that of a visit by the second U.S. lady at the same time as senior officials from a U.S. administration of which her husband is a part. File Photo by Tannen Maury/UPI |
License PhotoMarch 25 (UPI) — Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pledged Tuesday that her government would resist what she called the unacceptable pressure of a “private” visit to Greenland by U.S. second lady Usha Vance to attend a dogsled race.
“This is clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants,” Frederiksen said of the trip coinciding with when National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are also scheduled to be on the island, saying the visits could not be separated from U.S. President Donald Trump‘s stated ambition of taking over Greenland.
“He wants Greenland. It cannot be seen independently of anything else,” she said. “Therefore, I have to say that it is unacceptable pressure being put on Greenland and Denmark in this situation. And it’s a pressure we will stand against.”
Frederiksen also called out the administration for going ahead with Thursday’s visit when Greenland had made it clear it was inappropriate while the territory was in the midst of the process of forming a new government following an election on March 11.
“They do not want a visit right now, because they do not have a government. You cannot make a private visit with official representatives from another country,” she added.
With the election results lacking majority backing for a pivot toward the United States, Greenland rejected a claim by Trump that the visit was a friendly one at the invitation of officials in Nuuk.
“The government of Greenland has not extended any invitations for any visits, neither private nor official. The present government is a caretaker government awaiting the formation of a new government coalition and we have kindly requested all countries to respect this process,” the administration said Monday in a statement posted on its Facebook account.
Outgoing Greenland Prime Minister Mute Boroup Egede also condemned the visits and warned of the threat posed by outside interference on the self-governing, autonomous region of Denmark, which has a population of just 57,000.
“We are now at a level where this cannot in any way be characterized as a harmless visit from a politician’s wife. The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us,” he said. “It must be stated in bold that our integrity and democracy must be respected without any external interference.
White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the purpose of the U.S. delegation was to “learn about Greenland, its culture, history, and people” with Waltz and Wright also scheduled to visit a U.S. military base on the island.
Trump told lawmakers in March 4 address to a joint session of Congress that the United States was going to get Greenland “one way or the other.”
He noted America’s strong support for Greenlanders’ right to self-determination but said that if they chose their destiny as being with the United States, they would be warmly welcomed into the union, pledging to make them wealthy and elevate their country to unrivaled heights.
Trump has also repeatedly expressed a desire to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, which prompted newly-elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to declare that “Canada will never ever be part of America in any way shape or form.”
