US President Donald Trump has appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to be Washington’s special envoy to Greenland, stressing that Landry understands how much the US needs the Arctic island, Politico reports.
Trump, who has long expressed his desire to annex the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland to the US, said on his social network Truth Social on the evening of December 21 that Landry understands how important Greenland is to US national security and will firmly advance American interests for the sake of security, defense, allies and even the survival of the entire world. Landry is a Republican and has been governor of Louisiana since the beginning of 2024. He called the position an honor and will work to make Greenland part of the US. It will also not affect the performance of his duties as governor in any way.
Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen took to social media to express his view over the new envoy’s appointment, saying it looked serious but
calling for calm and emphasizing Greenland’s right to self-determination.
He added that Greenlanders would determine their own future and that its borders would be respected.
Meanwhile, Copenhagen, which has some influence over Greenland’s foreign policy and security, reacted angrily to Trump’s announcement. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told local media that he was “deeply outraged” and would summon the US ambassador to Denmark to explain.
A European Commission spokesman, when asked about Landry’s appointment, said that preserving the integrity of the Danish-Greenland border was of particular importance to the European Union.
Shortly after taking office, Trump announced that he would take over the vast Arctic island, which also contains virtually untouched rare earth deposits, and did not rule out sending in the army or applying economic pressure. The US president has repeated this several times, causing waves of outrage in Europe.
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