Demonstrators hold signs and wave flags during a protest outside the U.S. consulate in Nuuk, Greenland, Friday. The new diplomatic building officially opened earlier in the day amid tensions over American interests in Greenland. Photo by Oscar Scott Carl/EPA
May 22 (UPI) — A new American consulate opened in Nuuk, Greenland, Friday, and hundreds of Greenlanders showed up to protest it.
There has been a small consulate in the country since 2020, but the new one is 30,000 square feet and is on one of Nuuk’s busiest roads.
The consulate hosted an opening event with visitors and red, white and blue decorations inside. Ambassador to Denmark Kenneth Howery unveiled a new plaque and said he looked forward to a closer partnership with the semi-autonomous country, which is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“The Arctic is clearly a region of global importance,” the BBC reported Howery said. “We will always be neighbors and be with you into whatever future you choose as allies and partners.”
But outside, the locals made their voices heard, chanting, “We don’t want your money” and “Greenlanders know a MAGA Trojan horse when we see one,” The New York Times reported.
The locals have dubbed the new consulate, “Trump Towers.”
Protest organizer Aqqalukkuluk Fontain, 37, said, “The waves they are trying to create, and the propaganda they are pushing — people are not falling for it.”
“Our government already told Donald Trump and his administration that Greenland is not for sale,” the BBC reported he said. “Our message is for the American people and to the rest of the world — that in a democratic world, no means no.”
The United States had thousands of troops stationed in Greenland during World War II and the Cold War, but the bases have all closed except one. American officials have begun visiting the old bases as they consider reopening some, The Times reported.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry visited Nuuk on a “goodwill mission” and found he wasn’t very welcome. He handed out chocolate chip cookies and MAGA hats to few takers.
Inge Bisgaard told the BBC that Landry’s visit was disrespectful. “It’s so important to show this is not OK.”
“We get this fear from the United States. People were just recovering from last time, when it all began again in January,” she said about Trump’s previous comments about buying or invading Greenland.
Protesters stood for two minutes of silence with their backs facing the consulate, then resumed chanting for Americans to go away.
“Look at how little signage there is showing that it’s a consulate,” The Times reported protester Nivi Christensen, a museum director in Nuuk, said. “The other consulates fly large flags outside and are proud of it. This feels different. It feels as though they are doing it in a sketchy way.”
