Relations between Greenland and the United States sank further on Sunday as the Greenlandic prime minister erupted over what he called a “highly aggressive” delegation of senior officials the Trump administration said it would send to the island this week.
Usha Vance, the second lady, and Michael Waltz, the national security adviser, are among the officials headed to the island, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, though President Trump has vowed to make it part of the United States “one way or the other.”
Ms. Vance is scheduled to make a series of cultural stops after her arrival on Thursday, separate from Mr. Waltz. The national security adviser is supposed to be traveling earlier in the week with the U.S. energy secretary, Chris Wright.
The prime minister, Mute B. Egede, said on Sunday that Greenlanders’ effort to be diplomatic just “bounces off Donald Trump and his administration in their mission to own and control Greenland.”
He made the remarks, his angriest yet, to a Greenlandic newspaper on Sunday, and a high-ranking member of his party confirmed them. The prime minister seemed especially upset with Mr. Waltz’s involvement.
“What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland?” he asked. “The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us.”
“His mere presence in Greenland will no doubt fuel American belief in Trump’s mission — and the pressure will increase,” he added.
Other Greenlandic officials complained about the inopportune timing of the visit, pointing out that Greenland had just held parliamentary elections and that a new government has not even been formed.
“The fact that the Americans are well aware we are in the middle of negotiations,” said Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the leader of the most popular political party, “once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people.”
Greenlanders have become increasingly wary of Mr. Trump’s intentions. A recent poll found that a vast majority of people on the island, which lies along the Arctic Ocean and is mostly covered in ice, do not want to become part of the United States. Still, many have also voiced a desire to improve relations with Washington. Until now, most Greenlandic officials have tried to walk a fine line, asserting their sense of sovereignty while avoiding antagonizing Mr. Trump.
The Trump administration has presented the visit as friendly, saying in a statement on Sunday that Ms. Vance would travel with one of her children on Thursday and attend Greenland’s national dog-sled race, Avannaata Qimussersu, returning to the United States on Saturday.
“Ms. Vance and the delegation are excited to witness this monumental race and celebrate Greenlandic culture and unity,” the statement said.
Separately, Mr. Waltz is expected to tour a U.S. military base, two U.S. officials said. The United States has a small missile defense base on the northern part of the island and has kept troops on Greenland since World War II.
Mr. Wright, Mr. Trump’s energy secretary, is expected to join Mr. Waltz to see the base, according to another person with knowledge of the visit, as the Trump administration eyes rare earth minerals and other resources on Greenland. Potentially lucrative resources are scattered all around the island, but extreme weather, fired-up environmentalists and other factors have tempered hopes of large-scale operations.
Other senior administration officials may also visit, according to one of the officials, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the trip.
A spokesman for Mr. Waltz said the visit was for gathering information and exploring local culture.
“The United States has a vested security interest in the Arctic region, and it should not be a surprise the national security adviser and secretary of energy are visiting a U.S. space base to get firsthand briefings from our service members on the ground,” Brian Hughes, the National Security Council spokesman, said in a statement. “We also look forward to experiencing Greenland’s famous hospitality and are confident that this visit presents an opportunity to build on partnerships that respects Greenland’s self-determination and advances economic cooperation. This is a visit to learn about Greenland, its culture, history and people.”
A White House spokesman did not answer a question about whether the officials had been invited.
Mr. Trump has continued to ratchet up his talk of seizing Greenland, part of an expansionist mind-set in his second term that has also taken aim at Canada and the Panama Canal. Mr. Trump privately spoke about both in meetings during his first term, and some of his advisers explored the idea of acquiring Greenland, which had been an on-and-off national security proposal in the United States for decades.
Soon after his election in 2024, he began pushing advisers to find a way to make a Greenland acquisition a reality. The idea of retaking the Panama Canal soon followed.
Greenland has been connected to Denmark for more than 300 years. The Danes colonized it, but over time folded it into Denmark, and eventually granted Greenlanders more autonomy to run their own affairs.
The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, made clear on Sunday that neither Denmark nor Greenland had solicited the trips.
“The visit from the United States cannot be seen in isolation from the public statements that have been made,” Ms. Frederiksen said. She added, “This is something we take seriously.”
This will be Ms. Vance’s second solo trip internationally as second lady. The other was a visit this month to Italy leading the U.S. delegation to the Special Olympics World Winter Games.
Mr. Egede did not seem placated by Ms. Vance’s stated plans to soak up Greenlandic culture.
“We are now at a point where it can no longer be described as an innocent visit from a politician’s spouse,” he said, adding that “the international community must now react.”
