Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who is now President Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, is already contradicting himself by claiming the United States does not aim to conquer anyone, despite his loud public history of demanding the massive acquisition of the territory, according to The Hill. Landry made the comments on Tuesday while appearing on Fox News’s “The Will Cain Show.”
He told host Griff Jenkins that the Trump administration is not interested in taking over other nations. He insisted that the US is only a “welcoming party.” “We don’t go in there trying to conquer anybody and trying to, you know, take over anybody’s country,” Landry said. He stated that the US instead represents “liberty, we represent economic strength, we represent protection.”
This is a pretty stunning claim, honestly, considering Landry was one of the loudest voices pushing for the US to outright purchase Greenland just a couple of years ago. President Trump officially named Landry as the special envoy to the Danish territory on Sunday. However, shortly before President Trump’s second inauguration in January, Landry was completely on board with the acquisition idea, backing the president’s initial push to take ownership of the island.
Landry’s current words directly contradict his own recent public actions demanding Greenland acquisition
He even posted on X at the time, openly demanding the move. Landry wrote: “President Donald J. Trump is absolutely right! We need to ensure that Greenland joins the United States. GREAT for them, GREAT for us! Let’s get it done!” When you’re actively demanding that a territory join the United States, it’s hard to claim you aren’t trying to conquer or take over a country.
Landry tried to justify his position by framing the US involvement as a positive historical development, bringing up his own family’s history in Louisiana. He noted that his family has been in Louisiana for more than 300 years and has “lived under more flags than anyone living in the continental United States over the history of America.” He concluded that they “ended up settling under the United States of America’s flag, and for that, Louisiana has been so much better.”
Unsurprisingly, the Kingdom of Denmark isn’t too thrilled about this appointment or the messaging surrounding it. Greenland is a territory owned by Denmark, and the Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen made his feelings clear in a Facebook post, stating, “President Trump’s announcement about the appointment of a special envoy to Greenland, and in particular its statements about the purpose hereby, is completely unacceptable.”
That’s a seriously strong diplomatic signal. Because of this reaction, Denmark is now convening the US ambassador to the Department of State for a formal discussion regarding the matter. It shows just how much trouble this appointment is already causing internationally, especially when the envoy’s current words directly contradict his own recent public actions demanding a massive land acquisition.
Published: Dec 24, 2025 02:30 pm