US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland and Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry faced a major embarrassment during his recent “friendly” visit to the Arctic island as he received a cold welcome.
According to The New York Times, within hours of landing on Sunday in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, Landry was touring the town in a cold drizzle when one Greenlander gave his entourage the finger.
During the visit, Landry said: “I’m going to try to make as many friends, see as many things, talk to folks, and see if there are additional opportunities where the U.S. could engage economically — and certainly create opportunities for Greenlanders as well.”
However, Greenland’s health minister, Anna Wangenheim said that the citizens “are not experimental subjects in a geopolitical project”.
During the visit, Landry told some kids that if they came to his mansion in Louisiana, they could have “all the chocolate chip cookies you can eat.”
However, the next day Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen expressed his discomfort with the whole thing. “We have our red lines,” he told DR, Denmark’s public broadcaster. “And no matter how many chocolate cookies we get, we are not going to change them.”
As Landry was sightseeing in Greenland, The NYT reported several onlookers scowling at him, of which Hanne Hansen, a homemaker, said: “They should fix their own country first.”
“They need to get out,” said her friend, Vivi Nielsen.
Besides, it was also reported that Landry’s delegation carried cardboard boxes stuffed with red MAGA hats but few residents wanted them. Interestingly, for the Greenlandic entrepreneurs the red baseball caps mean “Make America Go Away”.
Interestingly, Landry’s tour guide Jørgen Boassen, a former bricklayer, was also slammed by the residents. “Traitor!” and “Shame on you!” residents yelled as he walked past with the US envoy.
The behaviour of the locals came amid reports of the United States in ongoing negotiations with Denmark over expanding its military presence in Greenland, with discussions reportedly including plans for up to three new bases in the strategically important Arctic territory.
The talks followed months of diplomatic strain triggered by US President Donald Trump’s earlier remarks suggesting that Washington should control Greenland for security reasons.
Greenland sits at a critical junction between North America and Europe and is increasingly seen as a key frontier in global military strategy. It offers early warning coverage for missile defence systems, monitoring of Arctic shipping routes, surveillance of Russian submarine movement and proximity to North Atlantic air corridors. Historically, the US had a much larger presence in Greenland during the Cold War, with more than a dozen installations spread across the island.
