The United States special envoy to Greenland posted a misleading historical claim about the territory he is tasked with planning to take over.
“History matters,” Gov. Jeff Landry wrote on X, before sharing information that was not historically accurate.
“The U.S. defended Greenland’s sovereignty during WWII when Denmark couldn’t,” Landry wrote, adding, “After the war, Denmark re-occupied it—side stepping and ignoring UN protocol.”
Landry also linked to an article suggesting that British troops could be moved to Greenland to defend the territory after President Donald Trump, 79, repeatedly issued warnings that the U.S. would take the autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark “one way or the other.”
Users were quick to fact-check the 55-year-old Louisiana governor, who was named special envoy to Greenland—a volunteer position—by Trump in December to “lead the charge” in seeking Greenland, which the president has reasserted the U.S. needs for national security.
“You’re completely full of s--t dude,” one user commented on Landry’s post.
“History does matter. The U.S. defended Denmark’s territory during WWII by agreement. Denmark never lost sovereignty, never ‘re-occupied’ Greenland, and violated no UN rules. This is myth, not history,” the user continued, writing that the governor should “Get an education.”
Readers collectively also provided corrective context in a community note attached to the post, outlining historical facts that differ from Landry’s claims.
According to the historical record, the U.S. and Denmark reached an agreement in 1941 that preserved Danish sovereignty while allowing the U.S. to defend Greenland.
Unlike Landry’s assertion, Denmark did not reoccupy the territory; instead, Greenland was re-recognized by the United Nations as a Danish county in 1954.
“Bad when a governor doesn’t know his history,” one user posted in response to Landry’s misleading post. “Let’s get it straight: Greenland was legally Danish territory before, during and after WWII. Therefore Denmark didn’t “re-occupy” it after WW2," another user clarified.
Landry ended his post in one sentence: “This should be about hospitality, not hostility.”
Yet, despite the governor’s opposition to “hostility,” the Trump administration—and the governor himself—have escalated their takeover rhetoric, even as Greenland’s residents and leaders have spoken out against it.
“We are not for sale. We don’t want to be Americans, we want to be Greenlanders,” Greenlandic MP Per Berthelsen told the Financial Times.
As administration officials discussed “a range of options” to acquire the territory of a NATO ally, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said on Tuesday, “If we have to choose between the USA and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark.”
According to a YouGov poll, a majority of Americans across the political spectrum oppose taking control of Greenland by military force, with 73 percent overall rejecting the idea.
“Lies are not working,” one user summarized in a comment on Landry’s historically inaccurate post.
The Daily Beast has contacted Landry’s office for comment.
