President Donald Trump announced that he’s nominating a MAGA ally to serve as U.S. special envoy to Greenland in a move that drew immediate anger from Denmark.
The 79-year-old president has long harbored ambitions to take over the Danish semi-autonomous territory. On Sunday, Trump announced that he would appoint Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to serve as the envoy to the island, apparently the first time the U.S. government would have such a role.
“Jeff understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World,” Trump said in a statement.
Landry, who only took office as governor in January 2024, and whose term ends in January 2028, described it as a “volunteer position.”
“It’s an honor to serve you in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the U.S.,” Landry wrote on X. He added, “This in no way affects my position as Governor of Louisiana!”
In reaction, the Danish foreign minister said on Monday that the United States must respect “the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark.”
Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a brief statement emailed by his ministry to ABC News that “the appointment confirms the continued American interest in Greenland.”
“However, we insist that everyone—including the U.S.—must show respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” he added.
He struck a decidedly more irritated tone in separate comments made to the Danish TV channel TV2. Calling Trump and Landry’s comments “completely unacceptable,” he said he’d be demanding an “explanation” from the U.S. ambassador.
“As long as we have a kingdom in Denmark that consists of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland, we cannot accept that there are those who undermine our sovereignty,” he said.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, meanwhile, said Landry’s appointment “doesn’t change anything for us here at home.”
“We will determine our future ourselves. Greenland is our country,” he wrote on social media, adding: “Greenland belongs to Greenlanders, and territorial integrity must be respected.”
The Danish Defense Intelligence Service said in a report earlier this month that the United States is leveraging its economic clout to “assert its will” and is willing to threaten military force against both allies and adversaries.
The report highlighted the growing “strategic importance of the Arctic” amid the intensifying conflict “between Russia and the West.”
And that’s exactly why Trump wants it. During his presidential transition and the opening months of his second term, Trump repeatedly pushed for the United States to assume jurisdiction over Greenland, and he has declined to rule out using military force to seize control of the strategically important, mineral-rich island.
“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he wrote on Truth Social exactly a year ago.
In March, Vice President JD Vance traveled to a remote U.S. military installation in Greenland, where he accused Denmark of failing to invest adequately in the territory.
While the dispute later faded from public view, it resurfaced in August when Danish officials summoned the U.S. ambassador after reports that at least three individuals with ties to Trump had conducted covert influence operations in Greenland. Denmark is a NATO ally of the United States.
Trump made Ken Howery, a co-founder of PayPal, the U.S. ambassador to Denmark last year.
