In the wake
Greenland says we didn’t invite them, we don’t want them, we’re not going to party with them, we think they’re rude to show up uninvited, we wish they would take a hint.
Greenland’s politicians have condemned plans for high-profile US visits, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the island.
Second Lady Usha Vance will make a cultural visit this week, and a separate trip is expected from Trump’s National Security Adviser Mike Waltz.
Outgoing Greenlandic Prime Minister Mute Egede described the plan as aggressive, and said the duo had not been invited for meetings. Meanwhile, the island’s likely next leader accused the US of showing a lack of respect.
What’s a “cultural visit”? Especially one from a spouse of a government bigwig? A spouse who was not invited?
Waltz’s trip was confirmed by a source who spoke to the BBC’s US partner, CBS News. He is expected to visit before Mrs Vance and to travel with Energy Secretary Chris Wright, according to the New York Times.
Outgoing PM Egede described Waltz’s visit in particular as a provocation. “What is the security advisor doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to show a demonstration of power to us,” he told Sermitsiaq newspaper.
Speaking to the same paper, Greenland’s probable next PM Jens-Frederik Nielsen accused the American officials of showing the local population a lack of respect.
If it’s any comfort, they show everyone a lack of respect.
Well, that would be Trump and/or Second Lady Vance sallying forth over to Greenland in order to maybe acquire a bit of culture. Listening enthralled to Icelandic sagas while nibbling some Danish blue vein cheese; stuff like that. They could also formally open the first McDonald’s in Greenland. (A brief search revealed that there are none at present.) And Donald Trump could devour the first burger to come out of that very same local McDonald’s outlet.! History would definitely be made.! And Stormy Daniels could add a bit of her special spice to the occasion. Maybe in her own stormy fashion cook up a storm by announcing that Greenland would henceforth be US territory; a state of the Union no less, and she its most appropriate first stormy governor.
I believe that the storms of Greenland are the stuff of legend.
Do you have to have a visa, or pass border control/immigration to enter? Maybe they could be denied entry.
Maybe Trump & Co. are trying to generate some outrage by manufacturing an “international incident” that will let them drum up anti-Greenland sentiment among the base. But unless they’re invited, they shouldn’t be welcome. Not exactly “REMEMBER THE MAINE!” material, but you’ve got to start somewhere.
I would bet 75%+ of “the base” has no idea what or where Greenland is? Would the base really be riled up? Dumb question. They would respond to their messiah as required.
Oh they know what it is, it’s that distorted giant continent at the top of the world map (or the location of the ice wall for the flat earthers)
I absolutely don’t get this. In our imperial days (British variety) we were known as perfidious Albion for betraying our allies (actually we were no more perfidious than France, the Habsburgs, Russia, or any of our rivals) but we were polite to them before stabbing them in the back. It’s sheer prudence to be so, just in case perfidiousness is no longer in your interest. This blatant rudeness serves no purpose at all.
If you have vassals – and we in Britain have been a servile vassal to our imperial overlord – there’s no point in humiliating them unnecessarily. Humiliate them in deed if it serves your purposes, but why humiliate them in word and gesture? (If you have ever watched that appalling film in Love Actually, there is a scene where the British PM tells off the nasty American president – that’s what the British would love to do, but of course are not in a position to do so.)
In our jobs we know where we are in the hierarchy. I know I have to do what my bosses tell me to do – but they ask me to carry out my tasks in a civil and friendly way – which doesn’t cost them anything and means I am a more cheerful underling.
And it’s so unAmerican. Americans (except for the immigration officials) are usually polite and friendly. Do they get this snarling from Marvel movies?
Personal emotions – resentments, cockiness – seem to be replacing the normal courtesies of dealing with foreign powers. There is no advantage in it at all except to infuriate people who might be useful to you at some point, to put it at its lowest.
I listened to a podcast from three American security experts (Christopher Preble, Zack Cooper, and Melanie Marlowe), which was recommended as being from the informed right . They were trying to find some kind of rationale behind Trump’s attitude towards Ukraine (https://warontherocks.com/2025/03/the-end-of-the-world-again/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email)– perhaps trying to prise Russia from China, though that was probably mistaken and there was a lack of long-term thinking. Now these people are far better informed than me but except for mentioning Trump’s desire for a Nobel peace prize, they missed out the personal grudges, petty vindictiveness and spite which animate Vance, Trump and Musk, the admiration for the strong man Putin; the affront that the annoying little David (Zelenskyy) is not bowing to the grand Goliath (Russia). Trump is always going on about how he “likes” this dictator or other – it’s all personal to him – there is no strategy, no acting in American interests – it’s all real estate and vanity.
You must know a different group of Americans than I do! ;-)
Seriously, Americans are a bundle of emotional responses. Polite and friendly, yes, a lot of the time. We tend toward courtesy in most of our interactions. But there is a solid core of hard asses (at least in their mind) that can’t do polite if their life depends on it.
That being said, some of the most polite and courteous people I know are Trump voters. Seems like serious cognitive dissonance to me.
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Denmark are not at all happy about having to bring in, at Danish taxpayers’ expense, soldiers and police in order to provide security for these unwanted visitors.