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President Donald Trump has selected Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as a special envoy to discuss Greenland with officials in Washington, extending the administration’s renewed focus on the Arctic island even as Trump has continued to publicly signal he could take action “whether [Greenlanders] like it or not.” Landry’s appointment, made in December, has begun to draw attention for the outreach style and political profile he brings to a dispute that Greenland and Denmark have repeatedly rejected.
Landry did not attend a White House meeting Wednesday that included Danish officials, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to the report. Landry was instead scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday and Friday for meetings that include the topic of Greenland, his spokesperson Kate Kelly said.
Landry’s spokesperson said the governor’s approach differs from conventional diplomatic engagement. Landry has said he is not interested in meeting diplomats, the report said, and he has not visited the island previously. The governor has instead planned to attend a dogsled race in March, and he has suggested Greenlanders would feel at home in Louisiana, saying he has heard they like to hunt, fish and “have a good time.”
At the White House, officials defended the choice. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said Landry “understands that Greenland is essential to our national security, vital to deterring our adversaries, and that Greenlanders would be better served by U.S. protection in the region,” as the report described. The White House also pointed to Landry’s experience as governor as preparation for the envoy role.
Outside supporters and critics have questioned how such a role will work in practice. Mary-Patricia Wray, a Louisiana political consultant who has worked with Landry, said his “brand fits the political moment and fits neatly with this president’s goal.” But Peter Bisgaard, a former Danish consular officer in New Orleans, said: “You don’t negotiate the future of a country on social media,” adding, “That’s asinine.”
The dispute over Greenland’s status involves NATO concerns as well as sovereignty. The report said Greenland’s party leaders have rejected U.S. overtures and that Danish officials warn a U.S. takeover of Greenland would end the NATO alliance that has served as the backbone of European security since World War II. It also said the White House has not ruled out military action in pursuit of Greenland.
The selection also highlights Landry’s limited record in foreign diplomacy. The report described him as a first-term governor who rose in Louisiana as a brash conservative and who does not have significant foreign diplomacy experience beyond economic development trips. His prior public profile has included combative politics: during eight years as Louisiana’s attorney general, he was known for airing out disagreements on social media and for defending the state’s abortion ban and rollbacks of LGBTQ rights, according to the report.
In discussing what he would seek as envoy, Landry has pointed to broader offers of cooperation rather than direct diplomatic meetings. In an interview on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” on Fox News Radio this month, the report said Landry described wanting to provide Greenland’s roughly 56,000 residents opportunities to “improve the quality of life” in exchange for expanded U.S. military presence and access to rare-earth mineral mining. The report said Landry also described his approach to forging ties as “culinary diplomacy.”
The report said Landry’s outreach has long been shaped by close ties to Trump. It reported that shortly after Trump announced his first presidential campaign in 2015, Landry interviewed him while guest-hosting a local radio show, and that their ties have grown since. The report also said Trump endorsed Landry’s run for governor and that Landry has said he was on the president’s short list for attorney general, and it cited Landry’s invitations of the National Guard to Louisiana, a Border Patrol deployment and expansion of immigration detention facilities.
Landry’s envoy work has also raised questions about how he will engage locals. In response to public information requests about early work as envoy, Landry’s office said that “any work done by the Governor regarding this project is voluntary and not state business,” according to the report. In the Fox interview, the report said Landry planned to attend a dogsledding event on the island in March after receiving an invite from “a Greenlander,” without specifying which event; it also said the possibility of Landry appearing could upset organizers of Greenland’s national dogsledding championship.
The Greenland Dogsledding Association chairman, Mikkel Jeremiassen, said in a statement this week that Landry’s attendance would be “wholly inappropriate,” the report said. The report also noted that Landry declined an interview request and that his office did not respond to questions about his actions so far as envoy.