{"id":912,"date":"2026-05-21T13:43:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arabnewsmonitor.com\/2026\/05\/21\/us-should-put-its-footprint-back-on-greenland-trump-envoy\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:43:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:43:03","slug":"us-should-put-its-footprint-back-on-greenland-trump-envoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/?p=912","title":{"rendered":"US should \u2018put its footprint back on Greenland\u2019 \u2013 Trump envoy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jeff Landry has questioned the Arctic island\u2019s sovereignty while calling for a stronger American presence in the autonomous Danish territory<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Washington needs to reimpose its presence in Greenland, US special envoy Jeff Landry has said, as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to expand its military and strategic footprint on the Arctic island.<\/p>\n

The Republican governor of Louisiana arrived in Nuuk on Sunday at Trump\u2019s assignment to \u201cfind a lot of new friends.\u201d<\/em> The visit followed months of tensions stirred by Trump\u2019s calls for an American takeover of the autonomous Danish territory and sparked controversy after it emerged that Greenlandic authorities reportedly had not officially invited Landry.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s time for the US to put its footprint back on Greenland,\u201d<\/em> he told AFP on Wednesday during his first visit to Greenland since taking up the post in December 2025, adding that the US is looking at boosting military operations and reviving former bases on the island.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"FILE
Greenlanders not \u2018guinea pigs\u2019 for US \u2013 health minister<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The US operated 17 military installations across Greenland during the Cold War, but most were later shuttered, leaving Pituffik base in the island\u2019s far north as Washington\u2019s only remaining military outpost.<\/p>\n

Recent media reports suggested that Washington is in talks with Denmark and is seeking to open three new bases in southern Greenland.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think you\u2019re seeing the president talk about increasing national security operations and repopulating certain bases in Greenland,\u201d<\/em> Landry told the outlet.<\/p>\n

Under a 1951 defense agreement with Denmark, updated in 2004, the US is already permitted to expand troop deployments and military infrastructure on the island, provided Copenhagen and Greenlandic authorities are notified in advance.<\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"MATAGORDA,
Global reputation of US sinks below Russia\u2019s rating \u2013 survey<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Greenlandic and Danish officials have repeatedly insisted that the island alone will decide its future, rejecting outside pressure over its sovereignty, in a stance that reflects a growing split within NATO as Denmark \u2013 a founding member of the bloc \u2013 finds itself at odds with Washington.<\/p>\n

Landry questioned whether Greenland currently had sovereignty at all when asked by Danish broadcaster DR whether an expanded US presence on the island would respect Greenlandic self-rule, while insisting Washington had always respected sovereignty, \u201ceven in places where we have had to go in and liberate.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

At the same time, he dismissed fears of a US takeover, saying Greenlanders \u201cshould not be afraid.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\n Read more<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n \"RT\"
NATO rift widens as Trump eyes troop withdrawal from Germany<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen said after meeting Landry on Monday that the island\u2019s position toward the US \u201chad not moved an inch,\u201d<\/em> reiterating that Greenland\u2019s \u201cred lines\u201d<\/em> remained unchanged. He also noted that despite \u201cconstructive talks\u201d<\/em> there was \u201cno sign\u201d<\/em> Washington had softened its stance.<\/p>\n

Declassified US military documents showed Washington viewed Greenland as vital to American security as early as 1946, prompting a $100 million offer to buy the island and even discussions about swapping part of Alaska. Denmark rejected the proposals, and the issue was later shelved after Copenhagen joined NATO and agreed to host US military bases in Greenland.<\/p>\n

Trump renewed the push to bring the mineral-rich Arctic territory under greater US control, claiming that the island risks falling into the hands of China or Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeff Landry has questioned the Arctic island\u2019s sovereignty while calling for a stronger American presence…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=912"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arabnewsmonitor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}