On Sunday, Trump announced that he had named Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana, as U.S. envoy for Greenland. – I didn't call him, he called me, he's very proactive, he's a great guy (…) – Trump said.
He added that the US needs Greenland for “the protection of the country.” – They have very little population… I don't know. People talk about Denmark. But Denmark doesn't spend any money, they have no military protection. They say Denmark was there 300 years ago or something like that with a boat, well I'm sure we were there with boats too, the US president continued.
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Why does Trump think the US needs Greenland?
Who is Jeff Landry and what are his responsibilities?
What were the reactions to the appointment of an envoy for Greenland?
What did the Danish Foreign Minister say about the US?
“So we're going to have to figure this all out. […] We need Greenland for national security. Not because of the minerals. We have many deposits of minerals and oil and everything. We have more oil than any other country in the world. […] If you look at Greenland, there are Russian and Chinese ships everywhere along the coast. We need it for national security. We have to have it, Trump said. “Greenland is a big deal,” he concluded.
Denmark summons the US ambassador
The head of Danish diplomacy, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, announced on Monday that the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs would summon the US ambassador in connection with Trump's appointment of a special envoy for Greenland. He also criticized a post on Landry's social media platform that said his job would be to “incorporate Greenland into the US.”
December marks a year since Trump, then president-elect, first spoke about the need for the US to take over the island. Since then, there has been a crisis in diplomatic relations between the US and the government in Copenhagen, as well as anti-American protests in Greenland.
