NUUK, Greenland — The top diplomats of Denmark and Greenland sucked down cigarettes outside the White House Wednesday after declaring their opposition to President Trump’s plan to acquire the world’s largest island.
Foreign Ministers Lars Rasmussen of Denmark and Vivian Motzfeldt of Greenland went viral for their solidarity in smoking after presenting a united front against US annexation at a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rasmussen, whose chain smoking is legendary, was jonesing as he jogged from the talks to a nearby parking area — with a butt dangling from his mouth as he extended a cigarette and lighter to a seemingly nerve-wracked Motzfeldt.
The high-stakes meeting led to Greenland and Danish officials to tell the US they are willing to have further conversations. “We are definitely ready to do more.” APThe roughly 80-minute meeting was entirely private and the White House, Vance’s office and State Department did not immediately comment on the discussions — nor did Trump, who said he was waiting to be briefed.
Anxious locals in Greenland’s capital told The Post that they related to their representative’s “vibe,” though some viewed the clip as undignified.
One Greenlander chided that it represented “weakness” and claimed it was an example of Denmark’s bad influence on Greenlanders.
“Why didn’t they wait [until cameras were off?,]” the resident wrote on Facebook.
“Typical Danes, and typical Greenlanders to follow in their footsteps,” wrote another.
‘Go up against the narrative’
Rasmussen, who served twice as Denmark’s prime minister, said at a joint press conference with Motzfeldt after the meeting that it was a chance “to go up against the narrative, because it is not a true narrative that we have Chinese war ships all around the place.”
“According to our intelligence,” he said, “we haven’t had a Chinese warship in Greenland for a decade or so.”
The Danish diplomat also contradicted Trump’s rhetoric that little protects Greenland from possible Chinese or Russian influence — saying the Danes specifically headed off an attempt by Beijing to finance local infrastructure.
“There’s clearly a disagreement. We agreed that it makes sense to try to sit down on a high level to explore whether there’s possibilities to accommodate the concerns of the president,” Rasmussen said.
“We didn’t manage to change the American position. It’s clear that the president has this wish of conquering Greenland. We made it very, very clear that this is not in the interest of the kingdom.”
Trump doubled down shortly ahead of the meeting on his insistence that anything short of full US ownership would be “unacceptable” — after repeatedly refusing to rule out military action to take control.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of National Security. It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“NATO becomes far more formidable and effective with Greenland in the hands of the UNITED STATES. Anything less than that is unacceptable.”
‘They added a second dog sled’
Trump has ridiculed Denmark for using dog sleds to protect Greenland — and did so again following the Wednesday talks, though he made clear he hadn’t yet heard from Vance and Rubio.
“The problem is there’s not a thing that Denmark can do about it if Russia or China wants to occupy Greenland, but there’s everything we can do — you found that out last week with Venezuela,” Trump said in the Oval Office.
“I can’t rely on Denmark being able to fend themselves off. You know, they were talking about, they put an extra dog — and they were serious about this — they put an extra dog sled there last month, they added a second dog sled. That’s not going to do the trick.”
The White House trolled the visiting delegation with a social media meme of two dog sleds with Greenland’s flag.
Copenhagen announced in December that it would bolster Greenland’s defenses with $1.5 billion in new resources, including two elite sled dog teams, two new patrol boats and two new long-range drones.
But Rasmussen told reporters Trump was misinformed and that his country was supplying “not dog sleds, but ships, drones, fighter jets, etc.” to bolster security.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen and Greenland’s Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt light up. AP
The meeting was roughly 80 minutes between the two officials. APRasmussen said it was “absolutely not necessary” for the US to acquire Greenland, but conceded “there’s also always a bit of truth” in Trump remarks and that “we share, to some extent, his concerns.”
“We have decided to form a high level working group to explore if we can find a common way forward,” Rasmussen said.
“The Kingdom of Denmark has already set up our own contribution by committing additional funds for military capabilities… and we are definitely ready to do more.”
A Greenland resident claimed that the smoking clip represented “weakness.” AP
One person commented on social media, “Typical Danes, and typical Greenlanders to follow in their footsteps,” wrote another. AFP via Getty ImagesHe added: “The US has already a wide military access agreement under the 1951 defense agreement. The US can always ask for increasing its presence.”
Motzfeldt, meanwhile, said she was interested in greater cooperation with Washington without becoming part of the United States.
The meeting came one day after Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen jointly condemned Trump’s talk of annexation.
Frederiksen blasted Trump’s “completely unacceptable pressure” and said “there is much to suggest that the hardest part is still ahead of us.”
If Greenland is forced to choose, “we choose Denmark,” Nielsen said.
