Washington — Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance are visiting a U.S. base in Greenland Friday, as the Trump White House eyes the semi-autonomous Danish territory despite opposition from residents and leaders. National security adviser Mike Waltz, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah joined them on the trip.
“As you’ve heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration,” the vice president told a group of service members at the dining hall at Pituffik Space Base, the northernmost U.S. military installation.
While Vance was on the base, President Trump reiterated his strong desire to acquire the autonomous territory of Denmark.
“We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security,” the president told reporters at the White House. “We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of, ‘Do you think we can do without it?’ We can’t.”
The second lady was originally scheduled to visit Greenland in an expanded cultural trip this week, and then the vice president announced Tuesday that would be joining her for a shorter trip that was more focused on U.S. policy and defense. They’ll be spending their time at the base.
The vice president said he learned a lot Friday about why Greenland and the U.S. base there are so critical to U.S. national security. It’s the that would give the U.S. a heads up of incoming missiles, he said. If the U.S. doesn’t fill the gap in the Arctic, other nations will, he said.
Vance thanked the group and noted that service members stationed at the base can’t bring their families along.
“I know it’s a lot of sacrifice to spend a year away from your families, but the mission is really important,” Vance said. “The Trump administration, the president, is really interested in Arctic security. As you all know, that’s a big issue, and it’s only going to get bigger over the coming decade, so thanks for doing what you do.”
Waltz told the soldiers they’re carrying a “tradition” of U.S. soldiers in Greenland, and said the president is very serious about Arctic security.
JIM WATSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
A statement earlier this week by the vice president’s office that announced Vance would join his wife on the trip emphasized Greenland’s role in U.S. national security.
“During World War II, the United States established over a dozen military bases in Greenland to defend the North Atlantic from Nazi incursion,” the statement said. “During the Cold War, the United States committed additional resources to Greenland to defend against Soviet missile attacks.”
The statement went on to criticize Denmark, claiming, “In the decades since, neglect and inaction from Danish leaders and past U.S. administrations have presented our adversaries with the opportunity to advance their own priorities in Greenland and the Arctic. President Trump is rightly changing course.”
Mr. Trump hasn’t given up on the idea of absorbing Greenland into the U.S., despite opposition from Greenland’s leadership and people. Greenland is an expansive island to the north and east of Canada that’s a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. It’s roughly three times the size of Texas, but mostly covered by ice. Most of its roughly 57,000 people — a population smaller than Carson City, Nevada — live along Greenland’s southern coast.
A recent poll shows 85% of Greenlanders do not want to be part of the United States, and residents who spoke with CBS News ahead of Vance’s visit to a remote U.S. installation on the island — America’s furthest north military base — clearly reflected the sentiments shown in that poll.
“He can’t just take it like that,” said Daniel Rosing, a trainee electrician who said he was proud of being a Greenlander.
And Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, has called the planned visits from U.S. officials “aggressive.” And Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, said the U.S. is putting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland.
Despite this opposition, Mr. Trump said earlier this month in a speech before the joint session of Congress that he had “a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland: We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.”
Mr. Trump said the territory is important to U.S. national security and that his administration is “working with everybody involved to try and get it.”
“And I think we’re going to get it, one way or the other,” Mr. Trump said. “We’re going to get it. We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. It’s a very small population, but very, very large piece of land, and very, very important for military security.”
Alex Sundby and
Holly Williams
contributed to this report.
