Trump’s envoy went to Greenland to make ‘friends.’ They were left unimpressed.

EuropeTrump’s envoy went to Greenland to make ‘friends.’ They were left unimpressed.“We don’t want to be Americans,” said a Greenland lawmaker, who described as “extraordinary” a situation in which “an ally is coming to us with what is basically an ultimatum.”Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Add NBC News to GoogleGreenlanders protest against Trump as the U.S. opens new consulate00:51Get more newsLiveonShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 23, 2026, 5:30 AM EDTBy Alexander SmithPresident Donald Trump’s envoy to Greenland says he got a warm welcome on his first visit this week. But the mood on the Arctic island was decidedly frostier, with one of its most prominent lawmakers calling the visit “appalling” and “offensive.”Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Pipaluk Lynge, who chairs Greenland’s foreign and security policy committee, slammed Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s trip as “a clear attempt to divide us” during the sensitive negotiations on the future of the semi-autonomous Danish territory.U.S. special envoy to Greenland, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, in Nuuk on Wednesday.Christian Klindt Soelbeck / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty ImagesShe singled out his attempts to offer chocolate chip cookies to a group of Greenlandic children, seen by some as a surreal effort to win approval despite grown-up Greenlanders saying no to American advances.“I think it’s remarkable that they feel welcome even though they weren’t invited,” Lynge said in an interview with NBC News.Trump has caused outrage in Greenland and Europe by suggesting he could use force to seize the island, which has vast mineral resources and is strategically positioned in a region increasingly contested between the United States, Russia and China. Most officials and experts agree that were the U.S. to invade a fellow NATO member, it would spell the end of the troubled military alliance.While Trump has rowed back these explicit militarist...