Why US Second Lady Usha Vance's Greenland adventure got derailed

The itinerary has changed. So too has the personnel. The Avannaata Qimussersua, one of the world's major dog-sledding events, is out. There will be up to three Vances, not two ? one is the Vice President of the United States.

It's not always easy or obvious how to deal with uninvited guests. Just ask Danish and Greenlandic officials. They welcomed a U.S. decision to alter a planned visit this week to the Arctic territory they said was not wanted or needed. It threatened an icy reception amid US President Donald Trump's vow to make Greenland the 51st U.S. state, reports USA Today."It's very positive the Americans cancelled," Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said on Wednesday.

Usha Vance, wife of Vice President JD Vance, and one of her sons had been due to visit the Danish territory from Thursday to Saturday to see cultural and historical sites. The head of the dog-sledding association asked her to wave a flag to open the annual dogsled race across ice and snow, which translates to "The Great Race of the North."

But amid what Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen described as "unacceptable pressure" on Greenland and local Greenlandic officials angrily characterized as an entirely unsolicited trip, the visit has both been upgraded and downgraded. Upgraded, because the vice president will be joining his wife, becoming the most senior Trump administration official to set foot on the island. Downgraded, because the American delegation will now only visit the U.S. Space Force Base at Pituffik, in northern Greenland, on Friday, not the dogsled race or other attractions. The Vances will be joined by White House National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

The idea of the U.S. acquiring Greenland first came up in the 19th century when Andrew Johnson was president. The U.S. had recently taken control of Alaska from Russia. Johnson saw a Greenland acquisition as part of a broader push to expand U.S. influence in the Northern Hemisphere.

Trump first expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, the world's largest island that isn't a continent, in 2019, during his first term. That interest has been amplified in the early months of his second one.

He has made repeated threats to acquire Greenland either through some form of financial transaction or even by using military force.