Trump names Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry special envoy to Greenland, draws rebuke from Denmark and Greenland; suspends offshore wind leases; unveils new “Trump-class” battleships
U.S. President Donald Trump reasserted that the United States “has to have” Greenland for national security and named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry on Sunday as his special envoy to the Arctic island, triggering swift criticism from Danish and Greenlandic leaders. The moves came alongside a separate push to expand U.S. naval power with a new class of “battleships,” and a suspension of leases for five offshore wind projects, including two developed by Denmark’s state-controlled Orsted.
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“We need it for national security. We have to have it,” Trump told reporters in Palm Beach, Florida, as he announced Landry’s appointment. Landry, who took office in January 2024 and has publicly backed the idea of Greenland joining the U.S., wrote on X that it was “an honor to serve … in this volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US,” adding the role would not affect his governorship.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen rejected the move in a joint statement, saying, “You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the US shall not take over Greenland.” Nielsen wrote on Facebook: “We have woken up again to a new announcement from the US president. This may sound big, but it does not change anything for us. We decide our own future.”
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he would summon U.S. Ambassador Kenneth Howery, calling the envoy appointment “completely unacceptable.” “Out of nowhere, there is now a special U.S. presidential representative, who, according to himself, is tasked with taking over Greenland,” Rasmussen told broadcaster TV2. Frederiksen, in an Instagram post, called it “a difficult situation that our allies for a lifetime are putting us in.”
Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory with about 57,000 people, has the right to declare independence under a 2009 agreement but remains dependent on fishing and Danish subsidies. Its location between Europe and North America makes it a key site for the U.S. ballistic missile defense system. The island’s mineral wealth has also sharpened U.S. interest in reducing reliance on Chinese exports.
Tensions escalated as the U.S. suspended leases for five large offshore wind projects being built off the East Coast, including two by Orsted, Denmark’s state-controlled developer. Copenhagen has sought to repair strained ties with Greenland while investing in Arctic defense, an effort that University of Copenhagen political science professor Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen told Reuters appeared to have “had no effect at all.”
In a separate announcement, Trump unveiled plans for a new “Trump class” of battleships—larger, faster and “100 times more powerful” than any previously built—as the centerpiece of an expanded “Golden Fleet” intended to cement U.S. naval dominance. The program will start with two vessels and could grow to 20–25 ships, he said, with the first to be christened the USS Defiant. “We haven’t built a battleship since 1994,” Trump said, promising cutting-edge technology including artificial intelligence and directed-energy lasers.
U.S. Navy Secretary John Phelan said the ships would carry conventional guns and be equipped with nuclear-armed, sea-launched cruise missiles. Trump, who has criticized the appearance of U.S. warships and the pace of defense production, said he will press contractors to speed deliveries and cut costs, questioning whether executive pay, dividends and stock buybacks are contributing to delays. “We don’t want to have executives making $50 million a year, issuing big dividends to everybody, and also doing buy backs” while aircraft like the F-35 lag, he said. Reuters reported last week that the administration is planning an executive order to limit dividends, buybacks and executive pay for contractors whose projects are over budget and delayed.
Trump downplayed China’s role in his naval decision, calling the expansion “a counter to everybody.”
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
