Usha Vance’s life as second lady is about to get a lot more attention as she prepares for a trip to Greenland, despite Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he wants to make the country a part of the United States.
Usha’s Instagram announcement of the trip on March 24 sent a subtle signal that she and JD did not agree on everything, thanks to a book visible in the background. Just a day after Usha’s trip announcement, JD Vance, her husband and Trump’s VP, posted his own video on X (formerly known as Twitter) announcing that he, too, would be on the trip.
JD’s announcement has raised eyebrows, not for what he had in the background, like Usha, but because his trip appears to be an afterthought. It appears that Trump no longer requires his presence in Washington, D.C., especially now that he has Elon Musk on his side.
In the video, JD explained why he was going to participate, saying, “There was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I did not want her to have all that fun by herself,” according to X. However, despite his claim that “I decided,” it appears that Trump made the decision. We do not see JD taking an international trip unless the president wants him to.
We are not sure why JD Vance suddenly joined Usha Vance’s Greenland trip. Some speculate that it is due to the Signal debacle, which occurred on the same day that Usha announced her visit; JD was revealed to be a member of a group chat that was reportedly discussing sensitive military plans, while an editor from The Atlantic was inadvertently added to the chat.
During the conversation, Vance expressed disagreement with Trump on some European policies, according to The Atlantic. We know that the trip was not organized by any Greenlandic or Danish officials; Greenland is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Perhaps Trump is literally distancing himself from Vance, and he was upset to hear that Vance was not completely in agreement with his views, which may have reminded Trump of Vance’s anti-MAGA past. Whatever the reason for JD’s last-minute travel plans, it appears to support the theory that Trump is closer to Elon Musk than his actual VP.
JD’s addition to the trip appears to have changed the itinerary. Usha mentioned attending a dog sledding race while in Greenland, whereas JD focused on the country’s “security”. Instead of watching dog sledding, they plan to visit a US Space Force base on the island.
