Denmark condemns JD Vance's provocative remarks in Greenland, 'This is not how you speak'

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called out the United States for the disrespect hours after US Vice President JD Vance delivered provocative remarks in Greenland. In a two-minute video message shared on Friday night, Rasmussen addressed Americans directly and urged the country to end hurling hostile messages towards Greenland.

“Many accusations and many allegations have been made. And of course, we are open to criticism,” Rasmussen said in his video address. “But let me be completely honest: We do not appreciate the tone in which it is being delivered," he added. Relations between Washington and Copenhagen went downhill ever since US President Donald Trump came back to the White House and threatened to annex Greenland, a self-ruling island administered by Denmark.

Dear American friends.

We agree that status quo in the Artcic is not an option.

So let’s talk about how we can fix it - together.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen
Danish Foreign Minister pic.twitter.com/vQrcUP7cwi

— Lars Løkke Rasmussen (@larsloekke) March 28, 2025

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Matters became more concerning after Trump refused to rule out using military force or economic pressure to acquire the world’s largest island. He often attempted to lure the Greenlandics, claiming that he would make them “rich”. However, both Greenland and Denmark, rejected Trump’s proposition, insisting that the island “is not for sale”.

What did Vance say

On Friday, the American Vice President visited the Pituffik Space Base, an American military base in Greenland’s remote north. He repeated his criticism that Denmark is “not doing its job” on Arctic security and told Greenlanders they would fare “better coming under the United States security umbrella than you have been under Denmark’s security umbrella."

He went on to claim that if the United States take over the island, they will help Greenland to fend off the threat from Russia and China. On the same night, Rasmussen issued a sharp rebuttal to Vance’s remarks. “This is not how you speak to your close allies,” Denmark’s top diplomat said. “And I still consider Denmark and the United States to be close allies.”

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In his address, the Danish foreign minister accepted the US argument that it “needs a greater military presence in Greenland, as Vice President Vance mentioned this evening,” and signalled his readiness to talk about it. “We — Denmark and Greenland — are very much open to discussing this with you, with an open mind,” Rasmussen said, adding Copenhagen and Washington enjoyed longstanding military cooperation and shared NATO membership.

“The fact is that we have all been harvesting the peace dividend,” he said. “We all acted on the assumption that the Arctic was and should be a low-tension area. But that time is over.”