With President Donald Trump’s attention trained on a war in Iran, the White House envoy to Greenland said Friday that there’s still a deal to be made in the Arctic.
Fresh off a multi-day visit to Greenland, his first since being installed as envoy, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry told Fox News that the island’s population wants to be more intertwined with Washington.
“They do love and embrace the United States,” he said. “So contrary to what you read in the paper, they do appreciate and want more U.S. involvement in Greenland.”
But Landry’s reception in Greenland was reportedly as icy as the island’s fjords. And the autonomous Danish territory’s leadership has shown little inclination to align closely with the U.S., following Trump’s bluster in the winter over its annexation.
The island’s premier, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, skipped the opening of a new American consulate in the capital city of Nuuk on Thursday. Crowds of protesters have gathered at the new building in recent days.
Still, the administration’s relationship with Greenland is a far cry from January, when Trump was fixated on acquiring the island. The president spent weeks calling on Denmark to sell the territory to the U.S., pointedly refusing to rule out military force if the Nordic country failed to cooperate. And he threatened tariffs on U.S. allies who sent troops to Greenland for military training exercises.
Landry tied the importance of his visit to the increasingly unpopular war with Iran in the Middle East, now nearing its fourth month. The president is also weighing strikes on Cuba, which could mark his latest foray into the international arena.
The war in Iran is proof of the vital role the island could yet play in aiding the West, Landry said Friday, due to its ample oil deposits.
“Greenland could be exporting 2 million barrels of oil a day right now,” he said. “Think about what that would mean. Think about what kind of pressure that would relieve in the Straits of Hormuz. Think about what kind of leverage that would give the Western Hemisphere and America. Think about the help that would give to Europe right now.”