JD Vance Hits Out at Denmark During Visit to Greenland

US Vice President JD Vance has landed in Greenland and met American troops at a military base as anger mounts over a potential American takeover bid.

Vance and his wife Usha were seen today jetting off for the visit and recently landed at the Pituffik Space Base in north-west Greenland where it was -3 degrees Fahrenheit.

'It’s cold as s**t here. Nobody told me,' Vance said to US troops, prompting laughs in the audience.

As Vance visited the military base, President Donald Trump spoke to reporters at the White House about the importance of Greenland to the future of the United States and the world.

'We need Greenland. Very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland,' Trump said, warning about Chinese and Russian ships 'all over the place' in the region as new waterways that were opening up.

'We are talking about world peace, international security,' he said.

Trump thanked Vance and his 'wonderful wife' Usha for traveling to the region.

'They will represent us well, but Greenland is very important for the peace of the world. The piece of the entire world, and I think Denmark understands it. I think the European union understands it, and if they don't, we are going to have to explain it to them,' he said.

During his visit, Vance was asked by the press about the president's desire to acquire Greenland.

'Well, the president said we have to have Greenland, and I think that we do have to be more serious about the security of Greenland,' he said. 'We cannot just ignore this place, we can't just ignore the president's desires, but most importantly, we can't ignore what I said earlier, which is the Russian and Chinese encouragement in Greenland.'

'Our message is very simple,' he continued. 'Yes the people of Greenland are going to have self determination, we hope they choose to partner with the United States because we're the only nation on earth that will respect their sovereignty and security.'

The White House says Vance will accuse Danish leaders of 'mistreating the Greenlandic people' for 'decades' during the visit.

'The Vice President and Second Lady are embarking on a historic expedition with their visit to Greenland, where the vice president will emphasize the importance of bolstering Artic security in places like Pituffik Space Base,' a senior White House official told Fox News.

'Unfortunately, Danish leaders have spent decades mistreating the Greenlandic people, treating them like second class citizens and allowing infrastructure on the island to fall into disrepair. Expect the Vice President to emphasize these points as well.'

The Vice President did not speak to the waiting cameras as he arrived on the island, instead entering an armoured vehicle briefly after disembarking from Air Force 2.

Speaking to US troops at the base, he said it was a 'pretty cool thing' to be the first Vice President to ever visit Greenland.

He added: 'The mission is really important, the Trump administration is really interested in Arctic security.

'It's a big issue and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades.

'As you've heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, so we're gonna talk a little bit about that with our friends in the media.'

Vance and Usha are being accompanied by National Security Advisor Mike Waltz - who admitted 'full responsibility' for accidentally adding a journalist to a group chat of senior officials discussing planned airstrikes in Yemen - as well as Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Utah Senator Mike Lee and former Homeland Security Advisor Julia Nesheiwat, who is Waltz's wife.

But the trip is viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation as President Donald Trump bids to annex the strategically-placed, resource-rich Danish territory.

US officials are likely to be met by furious demonstrators, with extra police drafted in to monitor the planned protests.

Initially, Usha was to travel alone to Greenland with her son and attend a dogsled race in the town of Sisimiut - but the visit was cancelled and replaced with the military base tour instead after her team could not find locals willing to meet her.

Greenlanders also made clear that they would protest her presence at the event.

Trump has insisted the United States needs the vast Arctic island for national and international security, and has refused to rule out the use of force to get it.

'We have to have it,' he reiterated on Wednesday.

Danish and Greenlandic officials, backed by the European Union, have insisted the United States will not get Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has denounced US plans to visit the Arctic island uninvited - for what was initially a broader visit to Greenlandic society - as 'unacceptable pressure' on Greenland and Denmark.

This morning she said the 'whole situation of coming to visit when there is no government in place is not showing respect for an ally.'

She added: 'It's a shame, but now we have a government that needs to put on its work clothes.'

A majority of Greenlanders oppose US annexation, according to a January poll.

The Pituffik base is an essential part of Washington's missile defence infrastructure, its location in the Arctic putting it on the shortest route for missiles fired from Russia at the United States.

Known as Thule Air Base until 2023, it served as a warning post for possible attacks from the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It is also a strategic location for air and submarine surveillance in the northern hemisphere, which Washington claims Denmark has neglected.

Vance is 'right in that we didn't meet the American wishes for an increased presence, but we have taken steps towards meeting that wish', Marc Jacobsen, a senior lecturer at the Royal Danish Defence College, told AFP.

He said Washington needed to present more specific demands if it wanted a proper Danish response.

In January, Copenhagen said it would allocate almost $2 billion to beef up its presence in the Arctic and north Atlantic, acquiring specialised vessels and surveillance equipment.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he considered Trump's plans for Greenland 'serious', and expressed concern that 'NATO countries, in general, are increasingly designating the far north as a springboard for possible conflicts'.

Greenland is believed to hold massive untapped mineral and oil reserves, though oil and uranium exploration are banned.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a former mining executive, told Fox News on Thursday he hoped the United States and Greenland could cooperate on mining to 'bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States'.

Trump's desire to take over the ice-covered territory, which is seeking independence from Denmark, has been categorically rejected by Greenlanders, their politicians and Danish officials.

While all of Greenland's political parties are in favour of independence, none of them support the idea of joining the United States.

A new broad, four-party coalition government was announced in Greenland just hours before the US delegation's arrival, following elections earlier this month.

New Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told reporters the territory needed unity at this time.

'It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences... because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside,' he said.

The outgoing prime minister, Mute Egede, had on Monday reacted angrily to the uninvited US visit, as Greenland's parties were still negotiating to form a government.

'Our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference,' he said.

This morning the King of Denmark, Frederik X, said: 'As I have said before, we live in a changed reality.

'But there should be no doubt that my love for Greenland and my connection to the Greenlandic people is intact.'

Vance angered Danes in early February when he said Denmark was 'not doing its job (protecting Greenland), and it's not being a good ally'.

A fuming Frederiksen quickly retorted that Denmark had long been a loyal US ally, fighting alongside the Americans 'for many, many decades', including in Iraq and Afghanistan.