JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Vice President JD Vance says he'll join his wife, second lady Usha Vance, on her visit to Greenland this week. The announcement followed criticism of what was originally planned as a solo trip. It was billed as a private affair. The visit comes as President Trump once again suggests the U.S. should annex the self-governing Danish territory. That is an idea that Denmark and Greenland have repeatedly rejected. Adrienne Murray reports from Copenhagen.
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ADRIENNE MURRAY: Usha Vance was to lead a U.S. delegation in what was billed as a private trip to attend one of Greenland's biggest cultural events, the national sled dog race. But last evening, there was a surprise change.
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VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: Hey, guys. It's JD Vance, the vice president.
MURRAY: Vance revealed he'd join his wife for the trip this Friday. But their itinerary will only include a visit to Pituffik, an American-run military base in Greenland's far north.
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VANCE: Unfortunately, leaders in both America and in Denmark, I think, ignored Greenland for far too long. That's been bad for Greenland. It's also been bad for the security of the entire world. We think we can take things in a different direction, so I'm going to go check it out.
MURRAY: Whatever form it takes now, the visit continues to stir controversy, says Aaja Chemnitz, a Greenlandic MP in the Danish Parliament.
AAJA CHEMNITZ: This is not an official visit, and nobody officially invited them from the democratic political system. This is at a very bad timing, and it is very disrespectful towards the majority in Greenland.
MURRAY: Greenland has recently demonstrated outside the U.S. consulate in the capital, Nuuk. Trump's repeated calls for U.S. control over the Arctic territory are causing frustration. Speaking to the Danish public broadcaster DR shortly before Vance's announcement, Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the American visit this week was a serious matter.
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PRIME MINISTER METTE FREDERIKSEN: (Through interpreter) It is an unacceptable pressure that is being placed on both Greenland and Denmark in this session. It is also a pressure that we will resist. I have said several times since January 7 that I, and we, take this situation very seriously. President Trump is serious. He wants Greenland.
MURRAY: U.S. second lady Usha Vance had been scheduled to visit Greenland's capital, Nuuk, and the Arctic town of Sisimiut. But a silent protest with locals turning their backs on the American delegation had been planned, and politicians and some businesses turned down meetings. The American visit now takes place away from the public eye. Some view that as a climbdown by the United States, but there's also caution about what comes next. Julie Rademacher is a Danish Greenlandic analyst.
JULIE RADEMACHER: Greenland wasn't prepared. Denmark wasn't prepared. We are normally very close allies with the U.S. The last couple of weeks, and specifically also the last couple of days, they have been confusing. It's very difficult to find out what is the goal for the new U.S. administration.
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MURRAY: Last weekend, Hercules cargo planes unloaded bulletproof vehicles for what was planned as a private visit. But they won't be needed for the changed itinerary, going only to an American military base 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
For NPR, I'm Adrienne Murray in Copenhagen.
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