Vance attacks Denmark in ‘aggressive’ visit to Greenland

US Vice President J.D. Vance has ruffled more feathers in Europe, this time during a controversial trip to Greenland, where he accused Denmark of effectively abandoning the territory to Beijing and Moscow and told residents their climate was “cold as s---” .

Vance declared that the US could no longer “bury our head in the snow” and ignore China’s attempts to establish itself in the semi-autonomous territory during the first ever visit to Greenland by a US vice-president on Friday.

US Vice President J.D. Vance speaks at the US military’s Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday.Credit: AP

He explicitly urged Greenlanders to vote for independence from Denmark, urging its citizens to join the US’s “security umbrella” in comments that have caused outrage in Copenhagen.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said the US should take over Greenland and has not ruled out the possibility of using military force to do so. When asked by reporters if he thought that would be necessary, Vance said he did not think it would come to that.

One Danish politician told the London Telegraph that the remarks were “deeply concerning” and said they would “not tolerate foreign interference”.

JD Vance, centre, with second lady Usha Vance, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz, his wife and former homeland security adviser, Julia Nesheiwat, left, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, right, as they tour the US military’s Pituffik Space Base in Greenland.Credit: AP

Vance travelled to Greenland on Friday accompanied by Usha Vance, the second lady, where he and US national security adviser Mike Waltz were briefed on Arctic security at the US military’s Pituffik Space Base.

“It’s cold as s--- here”, Vance said as he met troops, adding; “Nobody told me.” Temperatures in the capital were a chilly -8C on Friday afternoon.

After being briefed on national security matters, Vance ramped up the Trump administration’s attacks on Denmark and waded into a debate on Greenland’s independence.

“Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe,” he claimed, accusing the US ally of failing to spend enough protecting the territory and endangering “world peace”.

J.D. Vance decided to accompany his wife on her trip to Greenland at the last minute.Credit: AP

He urged Greenlanders to vote to secede from Denmark, after the Democratic party took a shock victory in its elections earlier this month. The party, like others, is pro-independence but in the long term.

Vance continued: “We can make them much more secure. We can do a lot more protection, and I think they’ll fare a lot better economically as well.

“This has to happen, and the reason it has to happen, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe.”

Vance said the alternative would be to “give up the North Atlantic, to give up the Arctic to China, to Russia and other regimes that don’t have the best interests of the American people at heart”.

He accused China and Russia of taking “greater and greater interest” in Greenland, accusing Beijing of setting “ridiculous debt traps” and deploying military forces to the region.

Last month, Vance stunned European leaders, declaring in a speech at the Munich Security Conference that their biggest security threat was not military aggression from Russia or China but was what he called “the enemy within” – their own suppression of free speech.

White House national security adviser Mike Waltz and his wife, former homeland security adviser Julia Nesheiwat, take a selfie in Greeland.Credit: AP

“We need to wake up from a failed 40-year consensus that said that we can ignore the encroachment of powerful countries as they expand their ambitions,” Vance added.

“We can’t just bury our head in the sand or in Greenland, bury our head in the snow and pretend that the Chinese are not interested in this very large land mass.”

The Vances left Greenland on Friday evening after their visit to the military base, meaning they spent a matter of hours in the territory before flying back.

When the White House initially announced the trip, intended to be a solo visit by the second lady, it was billed as lasting three days and including stops at the national dogsled race and multiple historical sites.

Vance announced he would accompany his wife at the last minute amid reports of planned protests and after Greenland’s prime minister called the US delegation’s visit “aggressive”.

During Vance’s speech , Trump posted a video on social media about how the US had defended Greenland from the Nazis during the Second World War with the tagline: “America stands with Greenland.”

The video was paid for by Securing American Greatness Inc, a campaign group that has previously spent millions of dollars producing adverts attacking former president Joe Biden.

It came after Trump doubled down on his comments about annexing Greenland, claiming US national security was being threatened by Chinese and Russian warships in the region.

“It’s not a question of, do you think we can do without it? We can’t,” the US president told reporters in the Oval Office.

“If you look at Greenland right now, Chinese and Russian ships all over the place, and we’re not going to be able to do that.

“We’re not relying on Denmark or anybody else to take care of that situation. And we’re not talking about peace for the United States. We’re talking about world peace. We’re talking about international security.”

Trump and Vance have become unpopular figures in Greenland following their comments about annexation.

On Thursday, it was reported members of the US consulate had gone “door-to-door” trying to find businesses willing to host the Vances, without success.

Anders Vistisen, a Danish MEP, said the repeated snubs were “not only a diplomatic humiliation” but “a disgrace to the office of the American presidency”.

He accused Vance of talking “fiction” in his speech, saying: “Denmark and Greenland have made it abundantly clear: we will not tolerate foreign interference – no matter how high up it comes in Washington.”

Photos appeared to show a two-woman protest taking place in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, as the Vances landed.

One of the women, standing on top of a snow mound, carried a sign demonstrating against the installation of US B-2 stealth bombers on the military base.

The Telegraph, London