Angering Denmark, Trump appoints Special Envoy to Greenland

Rethinking America
By Editor_1
President Donald Trump speaks alongside Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana during an event in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, March 24, 2025. Officials in Denmark and Greenland on Monday (Dec 22, 2025) reacted with anger to President Trump’s decision to appoint Landry as special envoy to Greenland, as he intensifies his efforts to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory -Doug Mills/The New York Times/File

By Amelia Nierenberg, Jeffrey Gettleman and Maya Tekeli

COPENHAGEN — Officials in Denmark and Greenland were furious Monday (22) that President Donald Trump had appointed a special envoy to Greenland, part of his efforts to take over the semi-autonomous Danish territory.

Trump announced on social media late Sunday (21) that he was appointing Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana, a political ally, to the position. Denmark’s Foreign Minister quickly criticized the move as “totally unacceptable” and said he would summon the US ambassador in Copenhagen for an explanation.

It appeared to be the first time the United States had appointed a special envoy to Greenland. That puts the island of fewer than 60,000 inhabitants in a small group of foreign policy priorities, including Ukraine and the Middle East, for which Trump has appointed trusted allies.

Landry quickly made it clear that he understood what Trump wanted from him, writing on social platform X: “It’s an honour to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US.”

Most of Greenland lies within the Arctic Circle, where world powers are competing for control of the top of the world to access untapped natural resources and emerging shipping corridors. Greenland has critical minerals that have attracted the interest of top officials in the Trump administration, and it served as a base for US military operations during World War II and the Cold War. There is still a remote US base on the island’s northern side.

In his post on Truth Social, Trump wrote that “Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security”.

But the appointment drew condemnation from Greenland and further deteriorated the relationship between the United States and Denmark, which used to be close allies.

“You cannot annex other countries,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark and Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland said in a joint statement Monday (22). “Not even by invoking international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, and the United States must not take over Greenland.”

Nielsen added in a statement on Facebook that the appointment “may sound big” but “doesn’t change anything for us at home”.

“We decide our future ourselves,” Nielsen said.

Denmark has exercised varying forms of control over Greenland for centuries and absorbed it into its kingdom in 1953. Today, Greenland manages its own domestic affairs with a budget subsidized up to 60% by Denmark, which also manages its defence and foreign policy. Many of Greenland’s leaders support independence, but differ on how soon that should happen and whether to build a closer relationship with the United States.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Denmark’s foreign minister, told Danish television Monday that he was “deeply upset” by Trump’s announcement and that he planned to summon Ken Howery, who became the US ambassador to Denmark in October.

The Danish government has twice this year summoned US diplomats to complain about reports that the United States was spying and running a covert influence campaign in Greenland. This month, in a first for the Danish government, Denmark’s military intelligence said that shifts in US policy were generating new uncertainties for Denmark’s security.

The appointment of a special envoy for Greenland could put pressure on Howery, a former executive at PayPal who is considered close to Trump. In November, Howery dodged a question from journalists about whether the United States would ever take Greenland by force, but he pledged cooperation.

“I very much look forward to working with my colleagues in the Danish government on our shared concerns regarding security in the Arctic,” he said, according to DR, the Danish broadcaster.

Landry, a Republican who was elected Louisiana’s governor in 2023, has spent his first term projecting toughness and loyalty to Trump. The president often calls Landry a “great governor.”

Landry has prioritized tackling crime, particularly in New Orleans. He has enthusiastically supported Trump’s use of the National Guard, asking the president in September to deploy as many as 1,000 National Guard troops in his state.

Danish officials and analysts said that while the United States has previously appointed envoys for the entire Arctic region, Landry would be the first special envoy just for Greenland.

Mikkel Runge Olesen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, described the move as a “significant escalation” by Trump, who has threatened to acquire Greenland through a financial transaction or military force several times since he returned to the Oval Office.

“It is not as if there is an abundance of special envoys,” Olesen said. “So, when one is appointed with the purpose of asserting control over Greenland, it signals that Greenland is very much in focus at the highest level.”

-New York Times

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