Second Lady Usha Vance’s scheduled trip to Greenland has become even more of an embarrassment to the Trump administration, as US officials were left knocking on doors trying to find anyone who wants to meet with her.
Usha Vance and one of her sons had been scheduled to visit the Danish-controlled territory from Thursday through Saturday to see historic and cultural sites.
But as President Donald Trump continues to insist the United States will take control of the mineral-rich island, many have decided to shun the Second Lady.
A plan to attend a popular dog sled race has since been canceled, and American officials were left scrambling trying to find anyone who would be willing to meet her in the capital of Nuuk, according to a report from Danish television station TV 2.
They even knocked on local’s doors, but were resoundingly told, ‘No, thank you’ of their request to meet with Usha.
As a result, the scheduled three-day trip has now been reduced to just one day, Friday, when Vice President JD Vance will join his wife to visit an American military base.
They will be joined by disgraced National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Christ Wright on their trip.
The Trump administration had claimed Usha was invited to the semi-autonomous territory to attend the Avannaata Qimussersu dogsled race in Sisimiut.
But Greenland’s government has explicitly stated there was no formal or informal invitation for US officials to visit the territory – especially as it is in the middle of negotiations to form a new coalition government, according to USA Today.
It has since been revealed that the invitation for the Second Lady to attend the dogsled race was sent by an American named Tom Dans, who runs a company called American Daybreak – which seeks to strengthen US and Greenlandic ties.
In a statement published on social media late Tuesday, he said the company was a major sponsor of the annual dogsled race, and it was in that capacity that he invited Usha and other senior Trump officials to visit Greenland ‘to experience this unique and exciting cultural event.’
He said the visit was always intended to be ‘purely personal in nature and in the spirit of the friendship between our two nations.’
It is unclear who canceled Usha’s appearance at the race, but it came amid widespread protests throughout Greenland and Denmark.
Now, the only thing on the agenda for Usha’s visit is the trip to the U.S. Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on the northwest coast of Greenland, in an effort to remove the risk of violating potential diplomatic taboos.
It will also reduce the likelihood that the Vance and his wife will cross paths with residents angered by Trump´s annexation announcements.
Pituffik Space Base is one of the most strategically important military sites in the world.
It serves as an early detection site for missile launches.
About 150 U.S. Air Force and Space Force personnel are permanently stationed there.
Its name changed two year ago from Thule to Pituffik, which means in Greenlandic ‘the place we tie our dogs.’
Opinion polls have shown that nearly all Greenlanders oppose becoming part of the United States, and in recent weeks anti-American protesters have staged some of the largest demonstrations ever seen on the Arctic island.
They have been speaking out against ‘American pressure against Greenland and Denmark’ and ‘unwanted visits from the U.S. government,’ and have planned a rally in front of the American embassy in the Danish capital for Saturday.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who has firmly opposed Trump’s overtures since his return to office, praised Greenlanders’ defiance of Washington amid the historic protests.
‘The attention is overwhelming and the pressure is great, but it is in times like these that you show what you are made of,’ she wrote in an address to the island’s inhabitants. ‘You have stood up for who you are.’
She had previously said that the Vance’s visit created ‘unacceptable pressure.’
‘It is clearly not a visit that concerns Greenland’s needs or wishes. That’s why I have to say it’s an unacceptable pressure being placed on Greenland and Denmark — and it’s pressure we will stand up to,’ Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told Danish broadcasters DR and TV2.
‘President Trump is serious,’ she said. ‘He wants Greenland.’
In fact, Trump doubled down on his vow to seize the territory from Denmark – once a US ally and a NATO member – on Wednesday.
He erroneously claimed that the people of Greenland ‘want something to happen’ with the United States.
‘They’re calling us – we’re not calling them,’ the president told reporters from the Oval Office.
When he was then asked if the people in the territory were ‘eager’ to become US citizens, he replied that he did not know ‘but I think we have to do it, and we have to convince them.’
He went on to explain that the United States needs Greenland ‘for national security and international security.
‘So I think we’ll go as far as we have to go,’ he vowed.
‘We need Greenland and the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark,’ he continued. ‘If we don’t have Greenland, we can’t have good national security.’
As the nautical gateway to the Arctic and North Atlantic approaches to North America, Greenland has broader strategic value as both China and Russia seek access to its waterways and natural resources.
The island, which is three times the size of Texas, also has a ballistic missile early-warning system but has no army and relies on Denmark for protection.
If the Trump administration were to take control of the territory, however, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested he will wage war against the US.
In an ominous warning Putin declared that Russia is ‘watching very closely’ for Trump’s next move.
‘We are talking about serious plans on the American side with regard to Greenland. These plans have long-standing historical roots,’ Putin told the International Arctic Forum in the Russian city of Murmansk.