As second lady Usha Vance is set to visit Greenland on Friday, U.S. officials have had a hard time finding locals who want to greet her.
American officials have been looking for locals in the Greenland capital of Nuuk who would be willing to receive Vice President JD Vance’s wife but couldn’t find any takers, according to a Wednesday report from Danish television station TV2.
“No, otherwise thank you,” was the wide response from the residents on the Danish-controlled island, forcing the Americans to change their plans, the station reported.
A travel agency based in Nuuk also announced in a post on Facebook that they would no longer be hosting Usha Vance after initially accepting the second lady’s visit.
“After closer consideration, however, we have now informed the consulate that we do not want her visit, as we cannot accept the underlying agenda and will not be part of the press show that of course, comes with it,” the company said. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.”
The post drew comments including, “Respect from Canada,” “Kudos from Switzerland,” and “Bravo from someone who lives in the USA!”
The owner of a local water taxi company, 41-year-old Anders Laursen, told NBC News that America has become a “bully.”
“Growing up, you see Hollywood movies, all the heroes and then you feel backstabbed and you feel like an ally that’s just gone the other way round and you’re like, ‘This can’t be happening, this is not the America we knew,'” he said.
Amid the lack of enthusiasm among Greenland residents about the Americans’ visit, JD Vance announced in a video on X that he would be joining his wife on the trip.
“There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didn’t want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I’m going to join her,” Vance said.
The Vances will also be joined by White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
Plans for the American delegation’s trip have repeatedly changed due to the expected frosty reception.
The original plan for the trip was for Usha Vance and one of her sons to visit the Danish territory from Thursday to Saturday to see cultural and historical sites, as well as attend the island’s annual dogsled race across ice and snow, which translates to “The Great Race of the North.”
Those plans were then changed when U.S. officials announced that the American delegation would be visiting the U.S. Space Force Base at Pituffik in northern Greenland on Friday, not the dogsled race or other attractions.
“It’s very positive the Americans canceled,” Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Wednesday.
However, according to reporting from NPR, American tax dollars will still help support the race as a State Department grant was provided to transport the dogs, sleds and racers by air to the site of the race.
Earlier this week and over the weekend, Danish officials called the planned American visit to the territory a move to pressure the Danish government to give Greenland to the United States.
“What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland? The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us,” Prime Minister Múte B. Egede said in an interview Sunday with the Greenlandic newspaper Sermitsiaq.
“Until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working closely,” Egede said. “But that time is over.”
Jens-Frederik Nielsen, leader of the Democrats, said the visit by the U.S. delegation during coalition talks and with municipal elections due next week “once again shows a lack of respect for the Greenlandic people.”
Since Trump’s victory in November, he has shown a continued interest in buying the island for “national security purposes.”
Greenland’s strategic location and rich mineral resources could benefit the U.S. as Greenland lies along the shortest route from Europe to North America and could prove vital for the U.S. ballistic missile warning system.
The governments of both Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly rejected and criticized Trump’s annexation talk.
In January, Donald Trump Jr. visited the island’s capital for a private visit, during which he handed out red MAGA caps, filmed a documentary, and spoke to Trump-friendly residents.
Then, in an interview on Fox News earlier this year, JD Vance questioned Denmark’s stewardship of Greenland.
“If that means we need to take more territorial interest in Greenland, that is what President Trump is going to do because he doesn’t care about what the Europeans scream at us, he cares about putting the interests of America’s citizens first,” Vance said.
The president has also, on repeated occasions, continued to insist that Greenland will come under American control. During Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress, he said that he supported the right of the Danish territory’s people to determine their own future.
But he added in an aside: “I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”
In a January post on Truth Social, Trump said the people of Greenland would “benefit tremendously” if their territory was under American control.
“Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation,” he said. “We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!”
Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard and Erin Mansfield, USA TODAY and Reuters
Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.