Hundreds of Greenlanders took to the streets of Nuuk on Thursday to protest the opening of a new US consulate and the broader ambitions of the Trump administration toward their territory, in a week marked by an uninvited visit from Washington's special envoy and deepening diplomatic tensions.
Jeff Landry, the governor of Louisiana who was appointed US special envoy to Greenland in December 2025, travelled to Nuuk for a business conference — arriving without an official invitation and accompanied by a delegation that included a doctor described as being there to "assess the medical needs of Greenland," a remark that drew sharp criticism locally. During his three-day trip, Landry met Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and several business and political figures, but the visit was widely seen as a clumsy charm offensive. Speaking to Agence France-Presse, Landry said it was "time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland," citing plans to expand military presence and "repopulate" former bases. At the Cold War's peak, the United States operated 17 military facilities and more than 10,000 troops on the island; today it maintains just one installation, the Pituffik Space Base in the northwest, used for missile warning and space surveillance.
The consulate opening itself became a focal point for public anger. The new premises — a 3,000-square-metre space in a modern downtown high-rise, already nicknamed "Trump Tower" by locals — represent a significant upgrade from the modest wooden building previously occupied by the US mission. Greenland's prime minister declined to attend the ceremony, and no cabinet ministers were present. Protesters marched through Nuuk chanting "Greenland is for Greenlanders," gathered in silence with their backs turned to the consulate, and held signs reading "USA Asu" — "Stop USA." Organiser Aqqalukkuluk Fontain, a 37-year-old IT professional, said the demonstration was meant to send a message not to provoke Trump but to affirm Greenlandic democracy. "No means no," he told reporters. Former US Ambassador to Denmark Rufus Gifford, speaking at the business conference, publicly rebuked Landry over claims that no senior American diplomats had visited Greenland before Trump's return to power, telling him bluntly: "You are way in over your head. Go home."
Greenland is a vast Arctic island that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but enjoys broad self-governance. Its government has consistently rejected Trump's calls to acquire the territory, which he has justified on national security grounds and as a means of preventing Chinese or Russian influence in the region. Prime Minister Nielsen reiterated this week that Greenland is "not for sale," while also acknowledging the territory is "obliged to find a solution" with Washington. Complicating matters, Denmark itself is navigating a prolonged political impasse — coalition talks in Copenhagen have stretched to eight weeks following a general election — though diplomatic channels remain active. Negotiations over US military access are ongoing, with American officials reportedly seeking the right to station troops indefinitely and to veto major foreign investments in Greenland.
The week's events underscore how geopolitically charged Greenland has become. Its location on the shortest missile route between the US and Russia, its vast rare-earth mineral reserves, and its growing accessibility as Arctic ice melts have made it a focal point of great-power competition. A joint statement issued by Greenlandic party leaders in January set the tone that has persisted: "We do not want to be Americans, we do not want to be Danes; we want to be Greenlanders." As US Secretary of State Marco Rubio headed to a NATO foreign ministers' summit in Helsingborg, Sweden, where Arctic security was expected to feature prominently, the message from Nuuk's streets remained unchanged.