President Trump on Monday defended the decision to send a U.S. delegation to Greenland, saying officials from the Danish territory invited them, after Greenland Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede called the visit “very aggressive.” Trump said the visit is “not provocation” when asked by a reporter to further explain the goal of sending second lady Usha Vance and other U.S. officials there after leadership from Greenland criticized the visit.
“This is friendliness, not provocation. We’re dealing with a lot of people from Greenland that would like to see something happen with respect to their being properly protected and properly taken care of. They’re calling us. We’re not calling them. And we were invited over there, and I thought it would be great,” the president said during a Cabinet meeting. The president said that the second lady “loves the concept of Greenland,” calling her “brilliant,” and added that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also be visiting the Danish territory. “But we’ve been invited, and they really like the idea, because they have been somewhat abandoned … they haven’t been taken well, good care of. And I think Greenland is going to be something that maybe is in our future,” Trump said. “It’s important from the standpoint of international security. And if you look at the ships outside of Greenland, you have Russia, you have China, you have lots of different people and lots of different places, and it cannot go on the way it is. It’s not going to go on the way it is. I’ll make a statement — it’s not going to happen. So they’re going there, and that’s purely friendship,” he said.
When questioned who from Greenland invited the delegation, the president replied, “A lot of people … people from Greenland are asking us to go there. We have many, many requests from many, many people, some officials too.” Trump has repeatedly stressed his desire for the U.S. to acquire mineral-rich Greenland, which is self-governing, for national security reasons. He’s done so despite pushback from both Danish and European Union officials. The White House announced Sunday that Usha Vance will travel to Greenland from Thursday through Saturday “to visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage and attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race.”
Additionally, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and national security adviser Mike Waltz are expected to join the vice president’s wife on the trip. Egede told the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq on Sunday that the “very aggressive American pressure against Greenlandic society is now so serious that the level cannot be raised any higher,” warning the Trump administration could take “over our country over our heads.” She also appeared to take particular issue with Waltz’s participation.
“What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us,” Egede said. “His mere presence in Greenland will no doubt fuel American belief in Trump’s mission — and the pressure will increase.”
