WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s newly appointed envoy to Greenland said Tuesday that the Republican administration is looking to start a conversation with residents of the semi-autonomous Danish territory about the best way forward for the strategically important island.
In his first extended comments since being appointed to the role this week, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry said the Trump administration is not going to “go in there and try to win somebody over” or try to “take over nobody’s country”.
The governor’s comments appeared to be somewhat at odds with Trump, who has repeatedly said the United States needs to take over the Arctic territory for the sake of US security and has not ruled out military force to take control of the strategically located, mineral-rich Arctic island.
“Well, I think our discussions should be with the actual people in Greenland — the Greenlanders,” Landry said in an appearance on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show.” “What are they looking for? What opportunities didn’t they get? Why didn’t they get the protection they actually deserved?”
Trump’s announcement of Landry’s appointment has again sparked anxiety in Denmark and Europe.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark told the Danish broadcasters that he would call the American ambassador to his ministry.
“We said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her Greenlandic counterpart, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, in a joint statement on Monday. “They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.”
Trump has repeatedly called for US jurisdiction over Greenland during his presidential transition and in the early months of his second term. In March, Vice President JD Vance visited a remote US military base in Greenland and accused Denmark of underinvesting there.
The issue gradually faded out of the news, but in August, Danish officials summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen after a report that at least three people with connections to Trump had conducted covert influence operations in Greenland.
The Trump administration offered no warning before the announcement of Landry’s appointment, according to a Danish government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The administration has yet to provide any details about the appointment to Congress, according to a congressional aide who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump is renewing the Greenland debate at a time when he has no shortage of foreign policy crises to deal with, including maintaining a fragile truce in Gaza and negotiating an end to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutal war in Ukraine.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Tuesday questioned the wisdom of “picking fights with friends” at such a difficult time around the world.
“Greenland’s sovereignty is not up for debate,” Shaheen said. “Denmark is a critical NATO ally that stood shoulder to shoulder with the United States”