A Greenland tourism business which was due to host Usha Vance has cancelled her visit, fearing it would descend into a “media spectacle”.
Donald Trump has made no secret of his ambition to control Greenland, a semi-autonomous region of Denmark – a wish that has sparked consternation among Greenlanders and in Copenhagen.
The US Consulate initially reached out to Tupilak Travel in Nuuk ahead of the days-long visit, during which the second lady and one of her children would “immerse themselves” in Greenlandic culture and visit the annual dogsled race.
The White House said on Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance would join his wife in Greenland – but that the couple would only spend a day there visiting the US Pituffik Space Base, on the northwestern coast.
Reacting to the change, Tupilak Travel issued a sternly-worded statement which read: “When the American consulate called yesterday to ask if the wife of the U.S. Vice President, Usha Vance, could visit our store on Friday, we replied that she was welcome.
“After all, everyone is welcome in our store.
“However, upon further consideration, we have now informed the consulate that we do not wish to host her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and do not want to be part of the media spectacle that will inevitably follow,” it read.
“No thanks to [a] nice visit… Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” the statement added.
The cancellation comes as President Donald Trump has insisted the visit to Greenland is about “friendliness, not provocation.” But the president repeated his assertion that the US could come to control Greenland.
Mr Trump had mused during his first term about buying the world’s largest island, even as Denmark, a Nato ally, insisted it wasn’t for sale. The people of Greenland also have firmly rejected Mr Trump’s plans.
Mr Vance has previously said Denmark is “not doing its job” with Greenland and “not being a good ally,” and “if that means that 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,” Mr Vance told Fox News.
