Jeff Landry Heckled in Nuuk as Protesters Reject US Footprint on Greenland

President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, arrived in Nuuk uninvited and faced public heckling as he walked through Greenland’s capital, with a person heard saying “Don’t come here.”

“The American envoy to Greenland, a vast Arctic island coveted by President Donald Trump, said on Wednesday to AFP that the United States should strengthen its presence on this Danish autonomous territory”

20 Min

The BBC reported that Landry began his first visit to the Arctic island by saying, “I'm here simply to build relationships, to look, to listen and to learn,” while Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterated the territory is “not for sale.”

20 Min

Landry’s trip also included an American doctor who told Danish network TV2 he had volunteered “to assess the medical needs of Greenland,” a move that Greenland’s Health Minister Anna Wangenheim criticized as “deeply problematic.”

The Guardian described protests against the opening of a new US consulate in Nuuk after Landry said it was time for Washington “to put its footprint back” on Greenland, and protesters carried signs reading “USA Asu” (Stop USA) and shouted “Greenland belongs to Greenlanders.”

Greenland’s leaders and US officials traded sharp messages as Landry’s presence continued without an official invite and as negotiations between the US, Greenland and Denmark continued, the BBC noting Nielsen said there would be no parallel discussion while top-level talks continued.

The BBC quoted Greenland’s foreign minister Mute Egede saying, “We have our red line. The Americans' starting point has not changed either,” while the Guardian reported that protesters shouted “go home” outside the US consulate.

BBC

The Guardian also quoted Aqqalukkuluk Fontain, 37, saying the protest was to show the American people “that no means no,” and it reported Christian Keldsen saying Landry “did not get the reception he was hoping for.”

In parallel, Newsweek reported that a White House spokesperson said Landry “had a productive meeting” with Greenland’s prime minister and foreign Minister, with both sides affirming the importance of the high-level working group.

As the dispute over Greenland’s status continued, Washington opened a new US consulate in Nuuk, and El País said the move came “despite not having the presence of Greenlandic government members who had been summoned.”

“On Saturday the American president Donald Trump announced that he would send a hospital ship to Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory that he covets and accuses Europeans of not doing enough to protect against Russian or Chinese ambitions in the Arctic”

BFM

El País reported that the US ambassador to Denmark, Ken Howery, said at the inauguration that the consulate would be “a meeting place where artists, students, business leaders and scientists both Greenlandic and American can come together, get to know each other and build bridges,” while hundreds demonstrated outside.

The Guardian said the US already had a consulate in Nuuk in a modest traditional-style building, but the move to new premises in a modern high-rise was symbolic of its growing presence, and it quoted Landry telling Agence France-Presse it was “time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland.”

Beyond the consulate, the Guardian reported that a US Northern Command spokesperson said the US was “evaluating options to strengthen homeland defence efforts in Greenland,” including “significant investment” in Pituffik and the possibility of “expanding defence areas beyond Pituffik,” with no final decisions made on additional sites like Narsarsuaq.