Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance are set to visit Greenland on Friday, despite criticism from left-wing politicians and liberal media outlets, where they will stop by the U.S.’s only military base in the Danish territory.
Pituffik Space Base, the Department of Defense’s (DOD) northernmost outpost, is located near the top of the island’s west coast and is home to U.S. Space Force Guardians who support missile warning, missile defense, and space surveillance efforts. The Vances will receive a briefing on Arctic security issues and meet with service members, Vance’s office told Breitbart News.
The upcoming visit to the base is a historic one, as the vice president will become the highest-ranking member of the Trump administration to set foot in Greenland and is traveling further North than any senior American leader ever has in their official capacity.
Usha was originally going to make a cultural visit to the territory without her husband and attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race, but the plans have since changed to include him and go to Pituffik instead.
Announcing the change in a social media video, Vance said he didn’t want his wife to “have all that fun by herself” and that he wants to “check out” the island’s security:
White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are also set to join the second family on their trip, Breitbart News reported.
Outgoing left-wing Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede told national newspaper Sermitsiaq that he felt that the planned visit was a provocation by the Trump administration, as the president has spoken of taking control of the territory “for purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World.”
“We are now at a level where it can in no way be characterized as a harmless visit from a politician’s wife… Because what is the security adviser doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to show a demonstration of power to us, and the signal is not to be misunderstood,” Egede said on Sunday.
Referring to Waltz, the prime minister argued that he is “Trump’s confidential and closest advisor, and his presence in Greenland alone will certainly make the Americans believe in Trump’s mission, and the pressure will increase after the visit.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also lashed out after news of the impending visit broke, claiming that the Trump administration has put “unacceptable pressure” on the country.
“This is clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants,” Frederiksen said in a statement obtained by Politico. “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.”
American liberal media pounced on the Danish and Greenlandic politicians’ pushback, with USA Today calling the Vances “uninvited guests” — while conceding that the head of the dogsledding association actually asked the second lady to wave a flag to open the big race.
“The Second Lady received multiple invitations for her attendance to the Greenland National Dogsled Race. Chairman Mikkel Jeremiassen of the Dogsledding Association KNQK Qimussersauq was excited to welcome the Second Lady and offered for her to wave the flag opening the race, per conversations between the U.S. Consulate and event organizers,” Usha’s communications director, Nikki Reeves, said in a statement obtained by Breitbart News.
Tom Dans, a sponsor of the Dogsledding Association and founder of American Daybreak, an organization that works to strengthen U.S. -Greenlandic relations, wrote that the “negative and hostile” reaction was disappointing.
“I encouraged and invited the Second Lady and other senior Administration officials to attend this monumental race. This visit was always intended to be purely personal in nature and in the spirit of the friendship between our two nations,” Dans stated on X.
“American Daybreak, and I personally, were very disappointed by the negative and hostile reaction – fanned by often false press reports — to the United States supporting Greenland and hoping to learn about its culture, tradition, and people,” he added.
A senior White House official said the Vances “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.”
“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,” the official added.
As Trump said earlier in March, the U.S. “strongly supports the people of Greenland’s right to determine their own future.”
“We will continue to KEEP YOU SAFE, as we have since World War II. We are ready to INVEST BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to create new jobs and MAKE YOU RICH — And, if you so choose, we welcome you to be part of the Greatest Nation anywhere in the World, the United States of America!” he wrote in a Truth Social post:
Non-allies of the U.S. have also taken aggressive steps to build up their presence in the Arctic, with Russian Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warning Trump in January that Russia will protect its “strategic interests” in the region.
“The Arctic is a zone of our national interests, our strategic interests. We are interested in preserving the atmosphere of peace and stability in the Arctic zone,” Peskov said, referring to Trump’s interest in obtaining Greenland. “We are watching the rather dramatic development of the situation very closely, but so far, thank God, at the level of statements.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also argued that Greenland needs protection from China as it seeks to exploit shipping routes in the Arctic, the Associated Press reported.
Because Greenland is already protected by the U.S. under the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), he added that the “we might as well have more control over what happens there.”
“I know it’s a delicate topic for Denmark, but it’s again a national interest item for the United States,” Rubio said in late January.
Donald Trump Jr. also made Greenland-related headlines that month as he visited the island, telling Breitbart News that it was an “absolutely incredible experience.”
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