No one wants to talk to Usha Vance—at least no one in Greenland.
US officials have reportedly been traveling around the Danish-controlled territory looking for locals who wanted to receive a visit from the Second Lady, according to a report from Danish TV 2.
Greenlanders’ response? No thanks.
Residents aren’t the only ones snubbing the Second Lady ahead of her high-profile visit to the island; Tupilak Travel, which is based in Greenland’s capital city, Nuuk, initially said it would host Usha Vance, but pulled out on Thursday.
In a post on Facebook, the company said that the US Consulate called and asked if it wanted the visit, and the company initially said yes, but then backed out.
“After closer consideration, however, we have now informed the consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that, quite, of course, comes with it. No thanks to nice visit… Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” the company said.
The cancellation comes on the same day that Vice President JD Vance announced that he would join his wife’s upcoming trip to Greenland.
“There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday, that I decided that I didn’t want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I’m going to join her,” Vance said in a video posted to X.
Vance, the Second Lady, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Energy Secretary Christ Wright are scheduled to depart for Greenland on Friday, though those plans could change by the time the delegation departs.
The U.S. delegation was also scheduled to attend the Avannaata Qimusserua, one of the world’s largest dog-sledding events, but that visit has been cancelled as well, according to USA Today.
As it currently stands, the American visitors will only be visiting the U.S. Space Force Base at Pituffik.
Greenlanders and Danish authorities aren’t pleased about the trip. Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen accused the US of exerting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland through its planned visit.
“I have to say that it is unacceptable pressure being placed on Greenland and Denmark in this situation. And it is pressure that we will resist,” Frederiksen told Danish broadcasters DR and TV2 on Tuesday. “You cannot make a private visit with official representatives from another country, when the acting Greenlandic government has made it very clear that they do not want a visit at this time,”
Frederiksen went on to say the US delegation’s arrival is “clearly not a visit that is about what Greenland needs or wants.”
“President Trump is serious. He wants Greenland. Therefore, [this visit] cannot be seen independently of anything else,” Frederiksen said.
Donald Trump has repeatedly said he wants to buy Greenland or obtain it through other means, including potential military action.
Thanks to climate change driven by human burning of fossil fuels, new shipping corridors are opening up in the Arctic Circle as sea ice melts. Trade routes between Asia and Europe or Asia and the U.S. are approximately 40 percent shorter through the Arctic than by way of the Suez or Panama Canals, according to the U.S. Naval Institute.
Currently, only five countries have territory in the Arctic Circle: Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark, by way of the semiautonomous Greenland, and the U.S. via Alaska. If the U.S. controls Greenland, it would be a major expansion of the nation’s control over Arctic shipping routes.
Trump has gone so far as to say that the island is “very, very important” for U.S. “military security.”
In addition to its potential military and economic strategic benefits, the Arctic may also have as of yet untapped fuel resources. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic holds 13 percent of undiscovered oil resources and 30 percent of undiscovered natural gas, primarily all offshore.
Greenland itself is rich with rare earth minerals, which are essential components in the production of cellphones, batteries, and other consumer technologies.
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