Usha Vance’s visit to Greenland’s capital was cancelled after US representatives failed to find any locals to welcome her, according to reports.
The Second Lady had planned to visit the Danish territory this week alongside other senior US government figures in a visit that had been described as a “provocation” by Greenland’s acting head of government Mute Egede.
It was later announced that JD Vance would be joining his wife on the visit, which was set to come after months of the Trump administration voicing their desire to take over the territory.
Usha Vance had been set to spend several days in Greenland on a “cultural visit.”
However, changes were subsequently made to the trip, which the White House confirmed on Tuesday would only involve the Vances visiting the US Pituffik Space Base, on the north-western coast.
Now, Danish broadcaster TV2 has reported that part of Mrs Vance’s visit to the capital of Nuuk was cancelled after US representatives failed to find any locals who wanted to greet the Second Lady.
Correspondent Jesper Steinmetz said: “The Americans’ charm offensive mission has failed.”
He explained that locals have completely blanked the Vance family’s prospective visit.
American representatives were seen walking around the city, canvassing residents to see if people would be interested in a visit from the vice president’s wife.
The answer the representatives received? “They’ve gotten no, no, no, no, no, every single time,” Steinmetz said.
The decision to scale back the visit has been welcomed by the Danish government, with Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen saying it was “very positive.”
He added that Denmark had “nothing against” the Americans visiting their own base, the BBC reports.
Rasmussen said the story had been “masterful spin in many ways, to make [the US] look like they’re escalating when they’re actually deescalating.”
Ever since he was inaugurated as president earlier this year, Trump has repeatedly suggested the US should take control of Greenland, either through military or financial force
Trump argues that the resource-rich territory is vital for the US’s national security.
Following elections in Greenland earlier this month, all of the territory’s political parties united to reject Trump’s advances. The parties all put their names to a joint statement which labelled his calls for a “takeover” of Greenland as “unacceptable.”
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