So is the U.S. actually taking over Greenland? Vance doesn’t seem too sure
When it comes to taking control of Greenland, we should apparently take President Donald Trump seriously, not literally.
That seemed to be the message Vice President JD Vance suggested during his visit to the island.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of Greenland somehow becoming part of the United States. It’s an idea that has drawn derision not just from U.S. allies and members of Congress, but also from the populations of both the United States and Greenland.
A poll this month showed more than two-thirds of Americans opposed the idea of taking control of Greenland. Opposition in Greenland itself has been recorded as high as 85 percent.
And if you look closely at Vance’s comments during his visit to Greenland, he might not have too much regard for the idea, either. He repeatedly pitched this as something else entirely: not necessarily the U.S. annexing Greenland, but merely forming a more robust security alliance.
When asked about Trump’s comment earlier in the day that “We have to have Greenland,” Vance repeatedly put on his Trump interpreter cap and suggested it was a more benign promise than it might seem.
“We’re simply saying to the people of Greenland, when the president says, ‘We’ve got to have Greenland,’ he’s saying this island is not safe,” Vance said.
“Well, what the president has said is that we need to have more of a position in Greenland,” Vance said.
“Well, the president said we have to have Greenland,” Vance said at another point. “And I think that we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland.”
Vance repeatedly spoke about a security alliance — the United States taking a “position” in Greenland — rather than Greenland becoming a part of the United States. He also emphasized the island’s right to self-determination. (Greenland is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, which Vance criticized for allegedly not adequately securing it.)
“We need a president who’s going to pursue the American national interest,” Vance said. “And that means ensuring that Greenland is safe.”
“And if the people of Greenland were willing to partner with the United States — and I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States — we could make them much more secure,” Vance said, adding: “We need to take a significant position in Greenland to keep the people here safe, but to keep our own country safe.”
Vance didn’t explicitly rule out the idea that Greenland would become part of the United States. And he, like Trump, even left open the idea of using military force to get whatever it is that the Trump administration actually wants. (Vance did however say, “We do not think that military force is ever going to be necessary.”)
But it was all a far cry from how Trump has built this up. Indeed, Trump has spoken plenty about quite literally having Greenland become a part of the United States. [Continue reading…]
Denmark has hit back against JD Vance’s comments that Copenhagen has not done enough for Greenland.
The US vice-president made his remark on Friday during a trip to the Pituffik space base in north-western Greenland, viewed by both Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation.
“Our message to Denmark is very simple: you have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a press conference.
“You have underinvested in the people of Greenland and you have underinvested in the security architecture of this incredible, beautiful landmass.”
The Danish foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said on X on Saturday: “We are open to criticisms, but let me be completely honest, we do not appreciate the tone in which it’s being delivered.
“This is not how you speak to your close allies, and I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.” [Continue reading…]
When Vance says that Denmark is not protecting Greenland and the base, he is wishing away generations of cooperation, as well as the NATO alliance itself. Denmark was a founding member of NATO, and it is already American’s job to defend Denmark and Greenland, just as it is Denmark’s job (as with other members) to defend the United States.
Americans might chuckle at that idea, but such arrogance is unwarranted. We are the only ones ever to have invoked Article 5, the mutual defense obligation of the NATO treaty, after 9/11; and our European allies did respond. Per capita more Danish soldiers were killed in the Afghan war than were American soldiers. Do we remember them? Thank them? [Continue reading…]