PITUFFIK, GREENLAND – MARCH 28: US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the US military’s Pituffik Space Base on March 28, 2025 in Pituffik, Greenland. The itinerary for the visit was scaled back after a plan for a more extensive trip drew criticism from officials in Greenland and Denmark, which controls foreign and defence policy of the semiautonomous territory. (Photo by Jim Watson – Pool / Getty Images)
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U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused Denmark of underinvesting the security of Greenland and claimed other European allies had failed to keep pace with defense spending.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to gain control of the autonomous Danish territory, describing the prospect as an “absolute necessity” for U.S. national security.
“Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe,” Vance told servicemembers at the Pituffik Space Base in Greenland on Friday.
“We know that too often our allies in Europe have not kept pace, they haven’t kept pace with military spending and Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this base, to keep our troops, and in my view, to keep the people of Greenland safe from a lot of very aggressive incursions from Russia, China and other nations with interest in this area,” Vance told reporters.
The vice president said the island was important because Pituffik would be the first to alert the U.S. if a missile was fired from an enemy country or enemy submarine at the U.S.
US Vice President JD Vance (C) poses with Second Lady Usha Vance (2nd L), National Security Advisor Mike Waltz (3rd L), his wife , former homeland security advisor, Julia Nesheiwat (L) and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright (R) as they tour the US military’s Pituffik Space Base on March 28, 2025 in Pituffik, Greenland.
Jim Watson | Getty Images
“We know that Russia and China and other nations are taking an extraordinary interest in Arctic passageways and Arctic naval routes and indeed in the minerals of the Arctic territories. We need to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic because we know that if America doesn’t, other nations will fill the gap,” he said.
Following Vance’s visit, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his country was “open to criticism” but that they did not “appreciate the tone in which it’s being delivered.”
“This is not how you speak to your close allies,” he said in a video message shared on the social media platform X.
“We respect that the United States needs a greater military presence in Greenland, as Vice President Vance mentioned this evening. We, Denmark and Greenland, are very much open to discussing this with you,” Rasmussen said.
‘Far fetched’ rhetoric
Vance’s visit comes as Trump reiterated earlier this week his desire to take over Greenland for national and international security purposes,