(WASHINGTON) — Vice President J.D. Vance and second lady Usha Vance arrived in Greenland on Friday for a scaled-back visit to the Pituffik Space Base.
The couple boarded Air Force Two shortly after 6 a.m. Eastern time and were joined on the trip by national security adviser Mike Waltz, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Sen. Mike Lee. The trip was originally planned as a visit by the second lady to attend a dogsled race, but that plan was scrapped after heavy criticism.
J.D. Vance was expected to deliver remarks and receive briefings at the Pituffik Space Base, according to a spokeswoman, and he and the second lady were set to greet U.S. service members stationed there.
J.D. Vance while meeting with service members noted he is the first vice president to visit Greenland, saying it is “a pretty cool thing,” before giving an overview of the visit.
“We’re talk to the command and some of the Guardians about what exactly the base does and all the important ways it contributes to national security. We’re going to get a briefing, of course, about, you know, what you guys do every day,” he said.
“As you’ve heard, we have some interest in Greenland from the Trump administration, so we’re going to talk a little bit about that with our friends in the media,” he added.
The vice president said he was told that assignment to the base was a one-year, unaccompanied assignment, meaning service members are not able to bring their families along.
“So I know it’s a lot of sacrifices, spending a year away from your families, but the mission is really important,” he added. “The Trump administration, the president is really interested in Arctic security. As you all know, that’s a big issue, and it’s only going to get bigger over the coming decades. So thanks for doing what you do.”
The visit comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly suggested that the United States should take over Greenland “one way or the another” for national security purposes and as he continues to emphasize Greenland’s importance as China and Russia ramp up activity in the Arctic.
“We have to have Greenland. It’s not a question of: Do you think we can do without it? We can’t,” he claimed in the Oval Office on Friday, saying Greenland is as vital to U.S. national security. “If you look at Greenland right now, if you look at the waterways, you have Chinese and Russian ships all over the place, and we’re not going to be able to do that.
“We’re not relying on Denmark or anybody else to take care of that situation,” he added. “And we’re not talking about peace for the United States.”
“Greenland’s very important for the peace of the world — not us, the peace of the entire world,” he said. “And I think Denmark understands it. I think the European Union understands it. And if they don’t, we’re going to have to explain it to them.”
The president made overtures about buying Greenland in his first term in office.
In a press release announcing the visit, Vance said, “In the decades since neglect and inaction from Danish leaders and past US administrations have presented our adversaries with the opportunity to advance their own priorities in Greenland and the Arctic. President Trump is rightly changing course.”
Wright, who is also making the trip, told Fox News on Thursday that Greenland has tried for years to interest U.S. mining companies to develop resources there because there’s not enough infrastructure to make mining economical.
“So, heck, maybe that is going to happen,” he said. “I think that is in the best interest of Greenland and Greenlanders and they have expressed that for years. If the United States can have the right cooperation, I think capital can flow there which would bring jobs and economic opportunity to Greenland and critical minerals and resources to the United States — a win for both sides.”
The idea of Greenland becoming part of the U.S. is opposed by many in Greenland and Denmark, of which Greenland is an autonomous territory.
Usha Vance was originally scheduled to make the trip to learn about Greenland’s cultural heritage and attend a national dogsled race before it was announced that the vice president, Waltz and Wright would join her. The trip was later scaled back to just a visit to the space base. The White House confirmed Thursday that Waltz will make the trip.
J.D. Vance and Waltz are at the center of the scandal over the purported conversation discussing the attack on Houthi rebels in Yemen over the commercially available Signal app that inadvertently included The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg, who reported details of the conversation on Monday.
Officials in Greenland and Denmark have pushed back against the visit.
Reuters reported that Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called Trump’s statements an “escalation” in Trump’s rhetoric.
“These very powerful statements about a close ally do not suit the U.S. president,” Poulsen told reporters in Copenhagen on Thursday. “I need to clearly speak out against what I see as an escalation from the American side.”
On Wednesday, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a post on social media the U.S. is putting “unacceptable pressure” on Greenland and Denmark ahead of the unsolicited visit, adding that the two regions will “resist.”
The timing of the visit was criticized in both Greenland and Denmark as Greenland tries to put together a coalition government after parliamentary elections two weeks ago.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
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