JD Vance accuses Denmark of failing to keep Greenland secure as he slams European allies

U.S. Vice President JD Vance on Friday accused Denmark of underinvesting the security of Greenland and declared other European allies had failed to keep pace with defense spending.

President Donald Trump has recurrently expressed his desire to gain control of the autonomous Danish territory, describing the prospect as an “absolute necessity” for U.S. national care.

“Denmark hasn’t done a good job at keeping Greenland safe,” Vance told servicemembers at the Pituffik Space Headquarter in Greenland on Friday.

“We know that too often our allies in Europe have not kept pace, they haven’t be preserved pace with military spending and Denmark has not kept pace in devoting the resources necessary to keep this foot, 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 lands with interest in this area,” Vance told reporters.

The vice president said the island was important because Pituffik resolve 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 states are taking an extraordinary interest in Arctic passageways and Arctic naval routes and indeed in the minerals of the Arctic territories. We indigence to ensure that America is leading in the Arctic because we know that if America doesn’t, other nations on fill the gap,” he said.

Following Vance’s visit, Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said his outback 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 confidential allies,” he said in a video message shared on the social media platform X.

“We respect that the United States scarcities a greater military presence in Greenland, as Vice President Vance mentioned this evening. We, Denmark and Greenland, are jolly much open to discussing this with you,” Rasmussen said.

Vance’s visit comes as Trump recapped earlier this week his desire to take over Greenland for national and international security purposes, saying the U.S. want “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 province of Denmark.

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

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

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin this week warned that it see fit 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 proposed 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 envisages have long historical roots, as I have just mentioned, and it is obvious that the United States will proceed 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 drop in on the island this week was met with stark criticism from leaders in Denmark and Greenland. Danish Prime Evangelist Mette Frederiksen claimed the plans were creating “unacceptable pressure.”

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

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