Hundreds of people gathered outside the newly opened U.S. consulate in Nuuk on Thursday to protest what they described as unwanted U.S. interference in Greenland’s affairs. Demonstrators carried the red-and-white Greenlandic flag and placards reading “USA ASU” (Stop USA), as well as English slogans such as “Make America go away!” and “We are not for sale!” Their chants included “Greenland belongs to Greenlanders,” “Go home,” and “No means no.”
Several Greenlandic politicians declined invitations to the consulate opening. Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told local media he would not attend, saying no decision had been made in principle but that he would not participate. Protest organizer Aqqalukkuluk Fontain, an IT account manager, said the demonstration aimed to show that Greenlanders control their own future and self-determination rather than to provoke U.S. officials.
The visit that coincided with the consulate opening was led by Jeff Landry, the Republican governor of Louisiana, whom President Donald Trump appointed as his envoy to Greenland in December. Landry arrived in Nuuk with a delegation that included a doctor whose presence drew criticism after comments that he was there to assess Greenland’s medical needs.
Local media and international outlets reported that Landry’s short trip drew rebuke from some Greenlandic officials and residents. Accounts of his street encounters say he offered chocolate chip cookies and red MAGA hats to passersby, gestures that were not widely accepted. He did meet with Greenlandic Foreign Minister Múte Egede and Prime Minister Nielsen; those talks were described as constructive but did not indicate any change in Washington’s posture.
Near the end of his visit, Landry told reporters he believed the United States should “put its footprint back on Greenland,” suggesting expanded national security operations and the possible repopulation of some bases. He also highlighted the island’s oil and mineral resources in public comments.
The wider political context in the reporting links the U.S. outreach to broader tensions in American foreign policy. The original report referenced recent U.S. actions in the Middle East and elsewhere and included criticism of the Trump administration’s approach to international affairs. Observers on both sides say that polls show opposition among Americans and Greenlanders to any U.S. takeover or forcible control of the territory.
The protests in Nuuk underscore long-standing sensitivities about sovereignty and self-determination in Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark that occupies a strategic position between the Arctic and the Atlantic. Organizers and many residents emphasized that any decisions about Greenland’s future should be made by Greenlanders themselves.
(Adapted from reporting by Common Dreams and other outlets.)
