The prime minister of Greenland on Thursday criticized the upcoming visit of second lady Usha Vance to the semiautonomous Danish territory, saying the trip “can no longer be described as an innocent visit from a politician’s spouse” amid President Donald Trump’s annexation talk.
National security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright are also expected to be among the senior members of the Trump administration to travel to Greenland this week.
In an interview with local newspaper Sermitsiaq, Greenland’s outgoing Prime Minister Múte Bourup Egede said of the trip, “We are now at a point where it can no longer be described as an innocent visit from a politician’s spouse,” according to a translation by The New York Times.
Egede also raised particular objections about Waltz’s visit.
“What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us,” Egede said, according to the Times. “His mere presence in Greenland will no doubt fuel American belief in Trump’s mission — and the pressure will increase.”
The White House announced the second lady and her son would travel to Greenland with a U.S. delegation on Thursday as part of a short trip to “visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage, and attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race.”
Waltz and Wright are expected to visit the Pituffik space base, a U.S. military base, before joining Vance for the dogsled race, Reuters reported.
Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said the U.S. “has a vested security interest in the Arctic region, and it should not be a surprise the national security adviser and secretary of energy are visiting a U.S. space base to get firsthand briefings from our service members on the ground,” in a statement reported by the Times.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, who is widely expected to be Greenland’s next prime minister, criticized the timing of the Trump officials’ visit, telling Sermitsiaq the move “once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people,” according to CNN. Greenland has yet to form a new government after Nielsen’s party won the general election earlier this month.
In a video posted on Instagram, Vance said she’s “coming to celebrate the long history of mutual respect and cooperation between our nations and to express hope that our relationship will only grow stronger in the coming years.”
“I look forward to meeting many of you soon and to learning from you about your beautiful land, culture and traditions,” she added.
Trump has repeatedly talked about the need to acquire Greenland.
“We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it,” he said during his joint address to Congress. “But we need it, really, for international world security. And I think we’re going to get it.”
“One way or the other, we’re going to get it,” he added.
Trump’s apparent plan is not popular with Greenlanders, according to a poll that shows 85% of the country opposes the prospect.
Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland in January, ahead of his father’s inauguration, but did not meet with any Greenlandic representatives at the time, according to The Associated Press.