Denmark summons US envoy after Trump appoints ‘special top diplomat’ to Greenland

Denmark has reacted sharply to Donald Trump’s decision to appoint a special envoy to Greenland, the autonomous Arctic territory he has previously suggested the US should acquire. Foreign minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Denmark’s TV2 that he was “deeply angered” by the move, calling both the appointment and Trump’s accompanying remarks “completely unacceptable.” He confirmed that Copenhagen will summon the US ambassador in the coming days to demand clarification.

Since returning to the Oval Office in January, Trump has repeatedly argued that the US needs control over resource-rich Greenland for strategic security purposes, pointedly refusing to rule out the use of force. On Monday (December 22), he announced that Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry would serve as the US special envoy to Greenland. On Truth Social, Trump praised Landry as someone who grasps Greenland’s “critical role” in US national security and will strengthen America’s strategic interests. Landry, replying on X, said he was honoured to take on the volunteer role “to make Greenland a part of the US.”

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A recent survey shows that while most of Greenland’s roughly 57,000 residents want independence from Denmark, they overwhelmingly reject the idea of joining the United States. Both Danish and Greenlandic leaders have repeatedly stressed that the island’s future is not up for negotiation and that it is not “for sale.” Rasmussen, in a statement to the news agency, AFP, said the appointment highlights Washington’s sustained interest in the Arctic territory but reiterated that the Kingdom of Denmark expects all partners, including the US, to respect its territorial integrity. Greenland’s strategic value continues to rise as melting Arctic ice opens new sea routes and intensifies geopolitical competition among the US, China, and Russia. The island also sits along the shortest missile flight paths between Russia and America.

Denmark previously summoned the US chargé d’affaires in August following reports of attempted US political interference in Greenland. Observers spotted at least three Trump-aligned officials in Nuuk trying to identify supporters and opponents of closer ties with Washington. The US reopened its consulate in Greenland in June 2020.