Second Lady Usha Vance is facing backlash for her planned visit to Greenland on Thursday, as the Trump administration continues to escalate its threats to take over the mineral-rich island.
Vance’s upcoming visit will come days after her husband, Vice President JD Vance, claimed in an interview that Denmark is “not doing its job and it’s not being a good ally.”
“So you have to ask yourself, how are we going to solve that problem, solve our own national security?” he said. “If that means we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do because he doesn’t care about what the Europeans scream at us, he cares about putting the interests of American citizens first.”
jd vance: “denmark not doing its job, not being a good ally…if that means we need to take more territorial interest in greenland that is what president trump is going to do.” pic.twitter.com/sCpEwxIJRb
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) March 23, 2025
According to Usha Vance’s team, she will travel to Greenland from Thursday to Saturday, where she will “visit historic sites” and “learn about Greenlandic heritage.”
Greenland’s prime minister Múte Egede criticized the trip as “highly aggressive,” stating that “it should be said clearly that our integrity and democracy must be respected without foreign interference.”
Trump, before taking office, announced his intention to make Greenland part of the United States, without proffering much of a plan for how to make it happen.
On social media, critics of Trump’s expansionist talk were quick to offer suggestions on how Greenland should handle the forthcoming trip.
“Greenland should deny her entry,” one recommendation that garnered more than 7,000 likes stated.
“Hey Greenland, why are you letting America’s planes land there?” questioned former Rep. Adam Kinzinger. “Why don’t you deny Usha Vance and the crew landing clearance? Fight back now or don’t be shocked when you can’t.”
“Maybe detain her and put her in a cold cell for a while?” offered someone else.
“At the very least, Greenland should require access to Usha’s phone and all electronic devices on her person, proof of U.S. citizenship, and have her wait in a holding room until she is cleared for entry (with her son held elsewhere during the process),” snarked another commenter.
“Park planes on the runway, force her away,” quipped another poster.
“What stops Greenland from simply refusing them entry?” echoed someone else.
While Americans are divided along party lines over Trump’s threats to Greenland, a poll conducted in late January found that the overwhelming majority of Greenlanders—85%—do not wish for their homeland to become a part of the U.S.
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