BURSTDanish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen praised Greenlanders and said they “have not been cowed” ahead of a Friday visit by Vice President Vance and other Trump administration officials to Greenland.
Greenland is an autonomous territory that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark.
“The attention is overwhelming and the pressure is great. But it is in times like these that you show what you are made of,” Frederiksen said in Danish in a post online, according to Google Translate. "You have not been cowed. You have stood up for who you are – and you have shown what you stand for. That has my deepest respect."
Vance, second lady Usha Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, will visit Greenland on Friday.
It was originally scheduled to just be the second lady and deemed a chance for her to explore Greenland’s history and culture, but the Vances are now scheduled to visit a U.S. military facility on the island.
The visit is a controversial one after President Trump has insisted for months that he wants the U.S. to acquire Greenland.
Both Greenland and Denmark officials have sharply criticized Trump for his push and said the sale is not going to happen.
Frederiksen noted there has been a lot of back and forth about the administration’s plans.
“President Trump's interest in Greenland is not going away,” she wrote, later adding, “They know very well that Greenland is not for sale. They know very well that Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
“There is no doubt that this is a difficult situation we are in. A situation that will wave back and forth – perhaps over a long period of time,” Frederiksen said.