Second Lady Usha Vance will spearhead a US delegation heading to Greenland later this week – the self-governing, mineral-rich territory of Denmark that Donald Trump has suggested the US should take over.
Mrs Vance is leaving Thursday for Greenland, alongside one of her three children, as part of a US delegation set to ‘visit historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage, and attend Greenland’s national dogsled race’.
The race, called Avannaata Qimussersu, features around 37 mushers and 444 dogs.
Mrs Vance’s office described the race as a ‘remarkable display of speed, skill, and teamwork’, adding they were excited to ‘celebrate Greenlandic culture and unity’.
The visit comes after Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, visited the island in January after the President remarked that the US should acquire Greenland ‘for purposes of National security and Freedom’.
Greenland is also rich in mineral resources that have not been tapped including coal, copper, diamonds, iron ore, oil and zinc.
Only a small fraction of the island has been explored due to the ice and glaciers, but they are melting which could make the resources more easily accessible. Ice loss has also opened more shopping routes to cut nautical travel in the summer of the Northern Hemisphere.
Trump had mused during his first term about buying the world’s largest island, even as Denmark, a Nato ally, insisted it was not for sale.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has repeatedly said that the US will come to control Greenland while insisting he supports the idea for strategic national security reasons – not with an eye toward American expansionism.
The US already has a military base in Greenland, but during a recent Oval Office meeting with Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, Trump said ‘Denmark’s very far away’ from Greenland.
He also questioned whether that country still had a right to claim the world’s largest island as part of its kingdom.
‘A boat landed there 200 years ago or something. And they say they have rights to it,’ Trump said. I don’t know if that’s true. I don’t think it is, actually.’
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All five parties in Greenland’s parliament issued a joint statement last week rejecting Mr Trump’s remarks.
Denmark has recognised Greenland’s right to independence at a time of its choosing.
Beyond his focus on Greenland, Mr Trump has refused to rule out military intervention in Panama to retake that country’s canal, saying that Canada should be America’s 51st state.
He also suggested that US interests could assume control of the war-torn Gaza Strip from Israel and redevelop it as a “Riviera”-like seaside resort.
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