During a visit to Greenland with his wife and Second Lady Usha Vance, US Vice President JD Vance did not mince words when it came to tariffs, particularly those imposed by Canada.
“As President [Donald] Trump often says, they just do not have the cards,” Vance said. He continued: “There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the United States.”
Trump has threatened 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, sparking a global trade war.
We are done being the world’s piggy bank for 40 years, just as our European friends, I believe, have neglected international security for 40 years,” Vance said. International security is central to Trump’s agenda, Vance said.
Vance and Usha Vance visited the Pituffik Space Base on Friday, amid President Donald Trump’s growing interest in American “control” over the Arctic island.
Usha Vance was originally scheduled to visit Greenland with her children on Thursday for three days to visit “historical sites, learn about Greenlandic heritage, and attend the Avannaata Qimussersu, Greenland’s national dogsled race,” according to her office, along with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz.
However, due to strong opposition from Greenlanders, they canceled their visit to the tourist attractions, with Vance accompanying them on the journey.
“I am going to visit some of our guardians in the space force on the northwest coast of Greenland, as well as check on the security situation in Greenland. “As you know, it is very important,” Vance stated solemnly.
At the same time, Vladimir Putin warns that the United States’ threats to take over the island should be taken seriously. At a forum in Murmansk, the Russian president noted that the United States initially planned to control Greenland in the nineteenth century and later offered to buy it from Denmark after World War II.
“It can look surprising only at first glance, and it would be wrong to believe that this is some sort of extravagant talk by the current US administration,” Mr. Putin said. “It is obvious that the United States will continue to systematically advance its geostrategic, military-political, and economic interests in the Arctic.”
The one-day visit to the US Space Force outpost at Pituffik, on Greenland’s northwest coast, eliminates the risk of violating diplomatic protocol by sending a delegation without an official invitation, as well as the possibility of Vance and his wife encountering residents outraged by Trump’s annexation plans.
Prior to the visit, four of the five parties elected to Greenland’s parliament earlier this month agreed to form a new coalition government, uniting against Trump’s territorial ambitions.
Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, said on Tuesday that the upcoming three-day visit would put “unacceptable pressure” on the country.
