Jeff Landry, also the governor of Louisiana, has stated during a visit to the Arctic region that it is time for the United States to “reconnect with their presence” in Greenland. This comes after Donald Trump’s return to the White House, where he has been consistently highlighting the importance of Washington acquiring this Danish territory to enhance national defense and prevent it from falling into the hands of Beijing or Moscow.
The special commissioner of President Trump for Greenland expressed these views on Wednesday during his first visit to the Arctic since his appointment in December 2025. He emphasized the need for increased national security operations and the deployment of troops to certain bases in Greenland to maintain a strong presence in the region.
During the peak of the Cold War, the United States had 17 military installations and over 10,000 soldiers in Greenland. Today, they only operate the Pituffik space base, the northernmost installation of the US Department of Defense. Pituffik is used for missile defense, space surveillance, and alert missions by the US Space Force.
Landry’s statements have sparked controversy before, especially when he mentioned his goal of making Greenland part of the United States. This led to strong reactions from both Greenlandic residents and Danish officials. The Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed disappointment at Landry’s comments, calling them unacceptable.
In response to these remarks, leaders of five parties in the Greenlandic Parliament issued a joint statement clarifying that they do not want to be Americans or Danes but aim to remain Greenlanders. This highlights the complex and sensitive political dynamics surrounding the issue of Greenland’s sovereignty and its relationship with the United States.
