Vice President JD Vance said Friday during a trip to a U.S. base in Greenland that the Trump administration doesn’t think that “military force is ever going to be necessary” to gain control of the country.
Instead, Vance urged Greenlanders to embrace self-determination and sever ties with Denmark, which has controlled the region since 1721. The Vice President criticized Denmark’s stewardship of the country, saying it’s less secure than it was decades ago.
Danish and Greenlandic leaders have pushed back on Trump’s desire to gain control of Greenland, but they’ve sought to ease tensions by proposing deeper military and economic cooperation on the Arctic landmass.