Trump's Greenland envoy faces uphill battle on mission to make 'friends'

President Donald Trump's special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, has begun his first visit to the Arctic island in a bid to build ties and make "friends".

"I'm here simply to build relationships, to look, to listen and to learn," Landry said after stepping off an official US plane in Greenland's capital Nuuk on Monday.

But Landry's visit to the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, has touched a nerve, with Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterating his country is "not for sale" and some Greenlanders giving Landry the cold shoulder.

The trip comes amid efforts to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by the US president when he threatened to seize Greenland by force.

Accompanied by a small entourage, Landry, who is also Governor of Louisiana, travelled for a business summit and will attend the opening of a new US consulate building.

Also travelling with him is an American doctor, who told Danish network TV2 that he had volunteered "to assess the medical needs" in Greenland - a move that the country's Health Minister Anna Wangenheim criticised as "deeply problematic".

Trump announced in February that he was sending a US hospital ship to Greenland, an offer flatly rejected by Greenland's leader.

Having been appointed to the envoy role in December 2025, Landry said the US president had told him to "go over there, and make a bunch of friends".

Jorgen Boassen, a Greenlandic Trump-fan who attended the president's inauguration, accompanied Landry as he toured the city.

The envoy also met a former mayor and various business leaders too.

Controversially, his visit takes place without an official invite and as delicate high-stakes talks between the US, Denmark and Greenland continue.

On Monday, Landry, who insists he is visiting on a goodwill mission, and the US Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery met Nielsen.

"We clearly reiterated that the people of Greenland are not for sale and that Greenlanders have the right to self-determination," the prime minister later told reporters.

Nielsen noted the "good tone" of the meeting, but emphasised there would be no parallel discussion while top-level talks continued.

Greenland's foreign minister, Mute Egede, also said the US had not given up on its aims to acquire the territory.

"We have our red line. The Americans' starting point has not changed either," Egede said, according to Agence France-Presse.

Trump's repeated calls to take control of the autonomous Danish territory, due to its importance for US national security, had sparked a diplomatic crisis.

After Trump ruled out taking the island by force, a "working group" was set up to resolve the dispute.

But while tensions have eased recently, an agreement between the countries has not yet been reached, and, as the BBC previously reported, .