JD and Usha Vance head to Greenland in scaled-back visit
The vice president and second lady departed for Greenland in a scaled-back visit that was initially planned for just Usha Vance and her son.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is doubling down on his interest in acquiring Greenland, telling reporters in the Oval Office this week that “we’ll go as far as we have to go” to get the Arctic territory. Vice President JD Vance and his wife are flying to Greenland on Friday for a diplomatic visit that has drawn worldwide attention.
But on Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers who would likely need to sign off on any deal are not quite so gung-ho about formally connecting the United States to Earth’s largest island.
“I think it’s impractical,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., noting that Denmark – which has territorial control – and Greenland residents have “stated their own objections.”
Instead, the swing-state senator said that the U.S. used to have more than a dozen military bases in Greenland and now has only one, a missile defense base: “Why don’t we talk about the real need to have power projection for the Arctic, and Greenland being a great platform for doing that, tapping on our history?”
Like Tillis, most GOP lawmakers who spoke with USA TODAY see the strategic advantage of the U.S. having increased access to the island – if Greenland can be convinced. None endorsed using military force or economic coercion to annex Greenland, which Trump has refused to rule out.
“Greenland is a quasi-sovereign part of another country. It just doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that we can impose on somebody,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. “We can certainly make offers and gestures and see what’s possible, and I think that’s all well and good.”
Trump’s interest in Greenland has come along with other targets for U.S. expansion: The president has also proposed annexing the Panama Canal and Canada, and has renamed the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
Greenland’s position in the Arctic Circle is growing increasingly advantageous, as melting ice has made it easier for ships to navigate the area between Asia, Europe and North America. The United States’ geopolitical rivals, China and Russia, have shown interest in expanding their presence in the region.
Greenland is also packed with the minerals necessary to produce many modern technologies, such as cell phones, batteries and electric vehicles, and may have access to large quantities of untapped oil and gas.
That’s why Trump has said “we have to have” Greenland, including pushing to annex the territory during his first term as president. He’s offered to buy it from Denmark, as the United States bought the U.S. Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million in gold coins in 1917.
But Denmark, which is a longtime ally of the United States and a founding member of NATO, has rejected the proposal. And the people of Greenland, most of whom want independence from Denmark, overwhelmingly oppose becoming a part of the United States. Nearly half of Americans also oppose annexing Greenland, according to a recent Yahoo! News poll, while a plurality of Republicans support it.
There are several ways Greenland could formally join the United States. The island could vote for independence from Denmark and ask to join the U.S. as a state, which would require Congress to pass a law admitting it. The U.S. could attempt to lease Greenland from Denmark with their consent, as China leased Hong Kong to the British in the 20th century, or buy it outright, which would likely require a treaty ratified by two-thirds of the Senate and appropriations from Congress.
Or the U.S. could invade Greenland – a scenario that would trigger the mutual defense clause from NATO, and which would require Congressional approval if it took more than 60 days. Trump said during his joint address to Congress that he “strongly” supported Greenland’s “right to determine your own future.”
A planned trip by Second Lady Usha Vance and her son to cultural and historical sites in Greenland this week was described by local officials as a “provocation” and “highly aggressive,” given Trump’s stated desire to acquire the Danish territory. Vice President JD Vance joined the trip and said the visit would be contained to the U.S. military base.
Experts say Greenlanders are largely open to U.S. investments in mining, tourism and fisheries, even as they oppose a takeover. The U.S. also has the right to construct more military bases in Greenland as long as Denmark and Greenland are notified.
Many Republican lawmakers said they agreed with the administration that it would be good for the United States if Greenland was annexed.
“It kind of gets us back to the Monroe Doctrine, making sure that we have protection in our own backyard and that we’re maximizing the ability to acquire natural resources,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., referring to the fifth president of the United States who in his 1823 State of the Union address warned foreign powers that any intervention in U.S. political affairs would be seen as a hostile act.
Before Trump even took office, Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., introduced the Make Greenland Great Again Act, which would authorize Trump to negotiate with Denmark to annex Greenland and automatically approve of the agreement if Congress doesn’t reject it within 60 days. It has 16 GOP co-sponsors. This is unlikely to advance in the Senate, where 60 votes are necessary to clear the filibuster.
Still, multiple lawmakers suggested the administration is not trying to force Greenland to join with the U.S.
“What everybody’s talking about is how can we make Greenland a really strategic partner of the United States,” Schmitt said. “That’s what the discussion is.”
A Compact of Free Association, like the U.S. has with the Marshall Islands, Palau and Micronesia, “would be a good model for a strategic partnership with Greenland,” said Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
“We’d love to have them be part of the United States if they wanted to,” added Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who serves on Senate panels overseeing federal spending and the Pentagon. “But at the end of the day, it’s going to be their decision.”
Kim Hjelmgaard contributed.