JD Vance accuses Denmark of failing to keep Greenland secure

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.

“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.

Vance’s visit comes as Trump reiterated earlier this week his desire to take over Greenland for national and international security purposes, saying the U.S. would “go as far as we have to go.”

“We need Greenland and the world needs us to have Greenland, including Denmark,” he said, referring to the island which is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen condemned Trump’s comments, saying the “far-fetched” rhetoric was a further escalation from the U.S.

Both the governments of Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly voiced opposition to Trump’s proposals, with Mute Egede, the outgoing prime minister of Greenland, earlier this month saying: “Don’t keep treating us with disrespect. Enough is enough.”

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin this week warned that it would be a “profound mistake” to dismiss Trump’s effort “as some preposterous talk by the new U.S. administration.”

Putin said the U.S. had previously offered to buy Greenland and had plans to control the territory “as far back as the 1860s.”

“In short, the United States has serious plans regarding Greenland. These plans have long historical roots, as I have just mentioned, and it is obvious that the United States will continue to consistently advance its geo-strategic, military-political and economic interests in the Arctic,” the Russian president said.

The U.S.’ initial plan for a delegation of officials to visit the island this week was met with stark criticism from leaders in Denmark and Greenland. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen claimed the plans were creating “unacceptable pressure.”

The trip was shortened to a one-day event and restricted to a visit of the U.S. Pituffik Space Base on the island, which is located far away from the territory’s cities.

Denmark appeared to welcomed the changes, with Foreign Minister Rasmussen suggesting they symbolized a de-escalation.

— CNBC’s Sam Meredith contributed to this report.