The Current - U.S. officials spark outrage with planned visit to Greenland

Episode Date: March 27, 2025

A delegation of U.S. officials including Vice-President JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance will visit Greenland tomorrow amid American threats to annex the country, which have left locals very upset. We look at how Greenlanders are pushing back — and how it’s brought the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland closer with Denmark.

When Eric and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents in 1989, most people assumed they did it for the money. But over the course of their trials, the Menendez brothers told a very different story. Now, after spending most of their lives behind bars, new developments in the case could lead to the brothers getting out. This week on Crime Story, I speak with Robert Rand, the journalist who's covered this story longer than anyone else. Find Crime Story wherever you get your podcasts. This is a CBC podcast.

Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is The Current Podcast. What a stupid human in the world like Trump. human in the world like Trump. US President Donald Trump is not the most popular guy in Greenland these days. He has repeatedly called for the US takeover of Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark with 56,000 residents. Tomorrow US Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Usha Vance are headed there for a controversial visit. Donald Trump talked about the importance of their trip earlier this week.

We're dealing with a lot of people from Greenland that would like to see something happen with respect to their being properly protected and properly taken care of. They're calling us, we're not calling them. They really like the idea because they have been somewhat abandoned as you know. They haven't been taken well, good care of and I think Greenland's gonna be something that maybe is in our future. As you heard anti-Trump sentiment is rising in Greenland and Greenland officials emphasize they never actually extended an invitation to the Vances.

Greenlandic member of the Danish Parliament, Aya Chemnitz, says residents are angry and Greenland is not for sale. I think they have misread the mood or the room you can say in Greenland and in the U.S. interest in Greenland is disrespectful. I think it's the wrong way to do it. Christian Ushloek-Jepsen is a freelance journalist from Greenland and joins us now. Christian, hello. Hello, hello. A visit from the US vice president is usually a big deal. This is quite an occasion to have the vice president arrive. How are people in Greenland viewing this visit?

They are quite mad if I had to say so in a few sentences. They haven't been very happy about it. They have been very angry about it and they have been, yeah. And of course, that's regarding the comments made from Trump and from the US from the past few months. So this has been like the tipping point, if you could say so. So this trip was supposed to be something different. It's been scaled back. Usher Vance was initially going to be accompanied by the National Security Advisor, Michael

Waltz. They're going to go to the capital city. They're going to go to a dog sled race. Now the Vances are just heading to the American military base. Does that change how people might see the trip? I think, I don't think that the ketchup is out of the bottle as we would say in Denmark, so it's hard to put back in. The fact that they just announced it and said we will

come next week is already like the presence there. So the fact that they have de-escalated and said that they are not coming to Nuga Sismir is not changing anything. What has happened has happened. Some of that catch up perhaps is the comments by the US president himself. He has said in his words, we need Greenland for international safety and security. I hate to put it this way, but we're going to have to have it.

You said initially that people thought in Greenland that this, these comments were a joke. When did people realize that perhaps the president was not joking about having Greenland? Um, I think it all kind of escalated when there was a big Trump airplane in Nuuk back in, was that in January or February when Trump Jr. he landed in Nuuk.

And I think that's what was when people really realized, okay, this is actually real, this is happening. There's actually a Trump guy in Nuke. And that's where it kind of started with people in Greenland realizing, okay, they're actually serious about this. They actually mean it. And then everything has just escalated more and more. And now especially here with the Vance, Vance has come into Greenland. I think that has been like, yeah. People have been escalating the anger a lot over the past few months, especially also during

the election when Trump made comments about Greenland to the Congress. I think a lot of Greenlanders also were very angry about that. When he says we're going to have to have it, do people think that he's somehow going to take Greenland? I mean, there's talk of buying Greenland, but those comments suggest that perhaps he's

even more forceful in what he's doing. Is that what people are thinking, that he might take over Greenland somehow? Yeah. In a sense, yes. I mean, they're afraid because it's the biggest military in the world threatening to take a country. And it's also like the discussion about how you cannot either buy or just take a country. Greenland has a long fight of trying to be independent from

Denmark. And now when another country come in and says, okay, you're ours now, I think that has also like started a lot of discussion and a lot of anger in Greenland. There have been protests in Greenland against the Trump administration's threats. You've covered these protests. Were you surprised by the scale of what you saw? A bit, yes, actually, because I think the demonstration against Trump that happened the weekend after the election was maybe the biggest protest I've ever seen in Greenland. So I was very surprised about the scale and how many different people actually came out to protest and how angry people were.

There was a lot of signs going against the US, a lot of science going against Trump, and a lot of the people I spoke to at this protest were all just angry at Trump, angry at the US. So it actually surprised me a bit how active people have been in these demonstrations. How have the elected officials in Greenland responded to that anger? With agreement.

In that demonstration, the demonstration started with the current interim Prime Minister Mutse Biede and probably Prime Minister Jens-Fredrik Nielsen, both giving speeches saying Greenland is Greenland and they cannot take it from us. So they have been following this discourse and this discussion a lot and agree with the Greenlandic people in the anger and the frustration of the US. Has that been the rallying cry, Greenland is Greenland? The rally cry has been... How do you say it in Greenlandic? The Greenlandic people and Greenland is our people, it's our country. The Greenland is not American, the Greenland is not Danish, the Greenland is Greenlandic.

There is, and you hinted at this in talking about the probable Prime Minister, there is a political transition going on because there were recently elections in Greenland. How did the US talk of taking over Greenland impact those elections? Of course it was like a big discussion during the election that the US is like lurking in the background during the election. And I think a lot of people were all saying that we want to vote on

someone who does not trust Trump, who does not want to be a part of the US. And on the final night of the election, there was this big TV discussion that started out with the question, do you trust Trump? And all of the party leaders all said no. So this has definitely been a big part of the election. And a big part of the election was also independence talk, because it's always a big discussion in Greenland. But now the independence talk was that if we become independent tomorrow there's a bigger chance of us being a part of the US or at least a lot

more influence from the US. So there's also been discussions about slowing down the independence talk because if we go in fully independent right now then what will happen? Will the US stand tomorrow and say your hours now? So that has definitely been a big part of the election. This is independence from Denmark. I mean, there's been a long push for independence from Denmark. You're suggesting that perhaps that's being tempered by what Donald Trump is saying. Yes, I would say so.

And in a weird sense, it has brought Denmark and Greenland closer together. Politicians and people suddenly care more about Greenland now than they did before the Trump comments. A lot more people in Greenland see benefits in being in the Commonwealth with Denmark and evolving to one day become independent. But as of right now, they still want to work on that Commonwealth and that's cooperation with Denmark. So in a weird sense, he has brought the Commonwealth closer together. You heard him, Donald Trump, at the beginning of our conversation. He

says that people in Greenland aren't being well treated, that they're being left, you know, on their own and that they'd be better off in the warm arms and embrace of the United States. What do you make of that? I actually, I also remember some comments that Eric Trump made about Greenlanders not being treated that well from the Danish people and the Danish government. The discussions back home that I had with my friends was that a broken clock is right twice a day.

Even though there's been a lot of anger towards Trump and a lot of anger towards the Trump administration, there has been some problems between the relationship with Denmark and Greenland. There has been some problems in the Commonwealth with Denmark and Greenland, and there has been some problems in the Commonwealth with Denmark and Greenland, especially with Greenland feeling that when they speak up about these problems, the Danish don't listen. But now they do listen. So in that sense, it has kind of helped in a way. You said in an interview with the New York Times that Greenland is not just a big chunk of territory, that it is a nation, it has a story, it's a homeland. What do you want people to understand about Greenland and Greenlanders in this moment? I think I want people to understand that Greenland is a country.

Greenland is a proud people and Greenland is a proud culture of people living over a vast big, big, big country. And that we're a small people, but we are people nonetheless. So I think I want to emphasize that we are actually a country on our own and we are actually a people on our own. So that's what I hope people will understand with Greenland, that they don't think about something that Trump would buy or some part of Denmark, that they actually think of Greenland as their own people, as their own country.

You know, I'm talking to you from Canada and people in this country are watching what's happening in Greenland very carefully, in part because of our relationship with the United States. You have the US president who keeps talking about how we should become the 51st state. He's launching economic warfare in many ways against Canada, and people believe this will cripple our economy, and that might make it easier for Donald Trump or for the US to take Canada or to take some of our resources.

Do you have a word of advice for people in Canada? Stay strong and just keep on fighting. My girlfriend and I have been talking about going to Canada for vacation because before all this we were talking about going to New York but I think we've scratched those plans and said instead maybe we should visit Canada. So yeah, brothers and aunts. It's a beautiful place. You are welcome to come here anytime. That's good to hear. And the same to you as well. Greenland is always open to Canada. It's good to know. Christian, thank you very much for this.

Thank you, of course. Thank you for having me. Christian Ushloyak-Jeppesen is a freelance journalist from Greenland. We reached him today in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm Zing Zing. And I'm Simon Jack. And together we host Good, Bad, Billionaire. The podcast exploring the lives of some of the world's richest people. In the new season, we're setting our sights on some big names.

Yep, LeBron James and Martha Stewart to name just a few. And as always, Simon and I are trying to decide whether we think they're good, bad, or just another billionaire. That's Good Bad Billionaire from the BBC World Service. Find it on bbc.com or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. I'm joined now by Rasmus Jarlov, Danish member of parliament, chairman of Denmark's parliamentary defense committee, also the spokesperson on Greenlandic affairs for the

conservative people's party. It's an opposition party. Rasmus Jarlov, hello to you. Hello, how are you? I'm well, thanks. If you had the opportunity to say something to JD Vance about this visit, this visit and the Trump's calls, Trump administration's calls to annex Greenland,

what would you say to JD Vance? I'm not sure because maybe sometimes it's better not to say anything. But we, we wish that he would have approached Greenland and Denmark more constructively, because there's nothing wrong with him visiting the US military base in Greenland. It's only natural that they visit their troops up there. They have this space base that protects them from nuclear missiles coming from Russia towards

North America. It's fine, he goes up there, but the problem is that it's accompanied by statements that they want to annex Greenland, they want to buy it and so on and that makes it very difficult to deal with from our side because of course there's absolutely no way that that is going to happen and we're going to agree to that. Before his visit JD Vance told Fox News that in his words, frankly, Denmark, which controls Greenland, it's not doing its job and it's not being a good ally. Is Denmark being a good ally to the United States? We think we are a very, very good ally.

We're a very loyal member of NATO. We have participated in every NATO military action over the past decades, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, pirate operations outside Somalia and so on. So we have definitely done our part. We're the top contributor per capita to Ukraine. No other country of any country in the world has given more money per capita per person to Ukraine and no other country of any country in the world has given more money per capita per person to Ukraine than we have so we're definitely doing our part and We are very good and very loyal ally and and we don't owe To the United States to do certain things in Greenland in order for us to earn the rights to to to be there

Greenland is a Danish territory and it's not something that has to be approved by the Americans. Donald Trump says that the people in Greenland are welcoming of the idea of a US takeover, particularly in his words, with respect to them being properly protected and properly taken care of. Do you think that people in Greenland would welcome becoming part of the United States? It's factually wrong. Like you also heard just before from the journalists from Greenland, there is nobody in Greenland that wants to be part of the United States. There was a poll two months ago where they asked if they would like Greenland to leave Denmark

to become part of the United States, and only 6%% said yes and 85% said no. You've also suggested, you suggested on social media that American organizers went knocking on doors in the capital of Greenland to find a family that would invite Uscha Vance in when they arrived and it failed. Is that true? Yes, they have been working hard on getting good publicity for the visit for Miss Vance. They went around knocking on doors in the Greenlandic capital of Nuuk to find someone that would let them in so they could get some good pictures of her sitting together with

a Greenlandic family. No one would let them in. Everyone is angry. They feel threatened. They feel disrespected because the Americans keep telling the public that they want to be American, and they just ignore that all Greenlanders say the opposite. And that's very, very disrespectful.

And also, I have to say this idea that Greenland is threatened, so the United States has to protect it. Greenland is only threatened by the United States. It's not threatened by Russia and China? This is what he says, that Russia and China pose a threat and that the US can better protect Greenland. No, no, they're not threatened by Russia and China. Neither Russia nor China has any presence in Greenland.

They don't even have a consulate. They don't own anything up there. The closest thing you're gonna come to a Chinese presence in Greenland is that there is an Asian restaurant in Nukin the capital and then they have shareholders in a fishing factory. That's it. We have kept them out. Denmark has kept both Russia and China out of Greenland and they don't have any ambitions of taking it over. So it's a classic propaganda

that you make up that other countries are threatening a country so that you have to go in and annex it to protect it. It's really taking from the worst books in history and it's quite simply not true. And if it were true, then why does the United States only have 150 troops in Greenland? They used to have 15,000 troops in Greenland. They used to have 15,000 troops in Greenland. They used to have three airports, a naval base, and raiders all over Greenland. But they've shut all of that down. It's not because we don't want them to have a military presence. We have a defense agreement with them. So they already have full military access to Greenland and they can be present as much as they want. But they have chosen only to have 150 troops in Greenland. So you can't both claim that there's a big need for a large military

presence and then not have it. Donald Trump has mused about buying Greenland. He also suggested at one point that the U S could take Greenland by force. And he told a podcaster, as I said, I hate to put it this way, but we're going to have to have it. What does that mean to you? We're going to have to have it. That means he wants it. Do you think he're going to have to have it. It means he wants it.

Do you think he's going to take it by force? No, that's, that's hard to imagine. I mean, that would be the end of the Western Alliance. Um, there would be no more NATO. There would be no Western Alliance. There would be no one who would want to follow the United States as a global leader anymore. How would you, how would you want other members of NATO, like Canada, to respond if the US,

if he's serious and he tries to take, and the United States tries to take Greenland? How do you want NATO to respond? That would lead to a war between the United States and Denmark, because of course we're not going to let the Americans just invade our territory. It's completely absurd to imagine a scenario like that. So I think they will try everything else. I wouldn't be the least surprised if they started putting tariffs on Danish products like they have with Canada. And then that would lead to a trade war between the European Union and the United States because putting tariffs on our products means a trade war with the European Union.

So that will lead to a very bad situation. But I think they will try to put all kinds of pressure on us in the coming time. And we will stand firm. We won't give in to a demand of sovereignty over Greenland. Maybe we can make a deal, but it's hard for us to see what we can give to the Americans because we're not going to give them the sovereignty. We're not going to give them the ownership of Greenland, but they can be present as much as they want militarily and they can also extract minerals.

As long as they just put up the investments, they're more than welcome to do that. I have to let you go, but is that what this is about, do you think? Is this about the minerals or what else is going on here? Why is he so fixated on Greenland? We don't know. I have to say, I can only see this being about putting your name on the map, because if it were about the minerals, you could have approached it in a constructive way and we could have struck a deal.

If it were about having a bigger military presence, they could have talked to us normally and we could also have approached it in a constructive way, and we could have struck a deal. If it were about having a bigger military presence, they could have talked to us normally, and we could also have worked it out. But it's so confrontational and so aggressive that it makes negotiations very difficult. The ketchup, as they say, is out of the bottle. Yeah, it is. I've never heard that expression before,

but it's good. We'd like to get it back. I don't know where to find that straw where we can suck it back in, but we have to, of course, get this under control and we have to make sure it doesn't spin out of control. But it's very, very difficult because we seem to wake up almost every day and there's a new crazy statement from the American government. Rasmus Yarlov, good to speak with you. Thank you very much. You're welcome. Thank you.

Rasmus Yarlov is a Danish member of parliament and spokesperson on Greenlandic affairs for the conservative People's Party.