By Molly Goddard
2:20am PDT, Mar 29, 2025
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Ahead of Vice President
J.D. Vance's trip to Greenland, the White House is slamming the island's leadership.
On Thursday, March 27, a senior official in
Donald Trump's administration issued harsh words for how Denmark has ruled the area and accused them of "mistreating" the Greenlandic people as America's commander-in-chief continues to try to annex the region.
Join us to hear what was said about the Danes…
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On Friday, March 28, J.D. Vance and his wife,
Usha Vance, will make their way to Greenland.
"The Vice President and Second Lady are embarking on a historic expedition with their visit to Greenland, where the Vice President will emphasize the importance of bolstering [Arctic] security in places like Pituffik Space Base," a senior White House official said in a statement. However, it may not be the most peaceful excursion. "Unfortunately, Danish leaders have spent decades mistreating the Greenlandic people, treating them like second class citizens and allowing infrastructure on the island to fall into disrepair. Expect the Vice President to emphasize these points as well," they pointed out.
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Usha Vance was originally scheduled to be at a dogsled race during their trip on Saturday, March 29. However, the plan was scrapped after
Danish Prime Minister
Mette Frederiksen called the move "unacceptable pressure."
Another one of Greenland's Prime Ministers
Mute B. Egede expressed his discontent with the visit. "The very aggressive American pressure against Greenlandic society is now so serious that the level cannot be raised any higher," he told the
Sermitsiaq newspaper.
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According to people close to Donald Trump, he feels annexing the island would be what's best for the residents.
"For decades, Denmark has severely underinvested in Greenland," a source told the
New York Post. "As the President said on Truth Social, we not only respect Greenlanders' right to determine their own future, but also are committed to keeping them safe, as we have since World War II and are ready to invest billions to help develop their natural resources."
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The former Arctic commissioner for the Treasury Department and current head of American Daybreak Group
Tom Dans emphasized why Donald Trump is fixated on obtaining Greenland.
"We're supporting them if they move toward independence," he explained in a statement. "President Trump has been unambiguous that he has [
Greenlanders'] back. Whatever they lose from Denmark, he would replace tenfold. And he's always going to give them security and protection. We want Greenlanders to begin to compete under their own flag at the Olympics and World Cup."
