JD Vance’s trip to Greenland on Friday was seen as controversial by many, especially following comments made recently about the region by U.S. President Trump.
But how have Greenland officials and the local public reacted to his visit? CGTN’s Evangelos Sipsas explains…
#Greenland #Trump #Vance #Denmark
But how have Greenland officials and the local public reacted to his visit? CGTN’s Evangelos Sipsas explains…
#Greenland #Trump #Vance #Denmark
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00:00J.D. Vance's stop in Greenland was brief, but the backlash immediate and intense.
00:07Landing at a U.S. military base with no meeting scheduled with local officials,
00:12the vice president's visit struck many as tone deaf.
00:16A reminder, they say, of how decisions about Greenland are still too often made without Greenland.
00:23The vibe is different, if I may say so, but there has been so many twists.
00:29This is like a B movie, right? There's been so many twists here with world leaders jumping in,
00:35and either they're going to land in the major cities and they're not going to land after all.
00:42So there's been a bit of like surprises here and there.
00:46The Greenlanders are more in the sense of there is a lot of unity in the sense of basically the Greenlandic national feeling
00:55that the Greenlanders don't want to be Danes, don't want to be Americans.
00:58It's actually the five mantra of the parties.
01:01It's a message echoed not just by politicians, but by people on the street.
01:06Frustration over foreign interference is boiling over, and the symbolism of the visit,
01:11especially with no local government engagement, struck a nerve.
01:16I am a human. I am a human. Humans are not for sale.
01:21We are not for sale. You are not for sale in your country. You know that.
01:27That's why I am very angry about that.
01:31He's not welcome to Greenland and his administration because he wants to buy us.
01:36If he says, I don't want to buy you, then he's welcome.
01:42Govern our country by ourselves without interfering from Denmark or USA.
01:55I would like to say to Trump, don't even think about repeating it that you want Greenland.
02:08We don't want you here.
02:10Just hours before Vance touched down, Greenland's major political parties announced a historic coalition,
02:17uniting 75% of the electorate under one government.
02:22Analysts say the timing was no coincidence.
02:25So yeah, the sense of unity has been increasing in Greenland.
02:30Of course, it would be naive to not say it, but the United States also has some part of playing this role
02:37in forming the large coalition base that has been presented.
02:42Greenland's message to the world, they're open for business, but not for sale.
02:48As global powers eye the Arctic and climate and commerce collide,
02:53the people of Greenland are making one thing clear.
02:57This island is not up for grabs.
03:00Evangelos Tsipsas for CGTN.