Jeff Landry thanks them for the award and writes on the X platform that it is an honor to take on the volunteer mission alongside his job as governor and "make Greenland part of the United States."
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, for their part, point out in a joint statement that one cannot annex other countries, "not even with arguments about international security."
"Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders and the US should not take over Greenland. We expect respect for our territorial integrity," they write.
The EU is reacting sharply to the American moves.
"Territorial integrity and sovereignty are fundamental principles of international law," European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote in a joint statement on X.
The two marked the EU's "full solidarity" with Denmark and Greenland.
Angry and upset
President Trump has repeatedly said over the past year that he wants to take control of the strategically important and mineral-rich Danish island – and has not ruled out using force.
“Jeff understands how crucial Greenland is to our national security and will strongly advance our country’s interest,” the president writes on his social media platform Truth Social.
Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen is furious:
"This is completely unacceptable. Therefore, after consultation with our Greenlandic colleagues, I have decided to summon the US ambassador for talks at the State Department," he tells DR.
The ambassador is Ken Howery. He is a venture capitalist with a background in Silicon Valley and was the ambassador to Sweden during Trump's first term. He recently visited the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk.
Nothing changes?
However, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen writes on Facebook that the appointment may sound like something big, but that it does not "change anything for us here at home," Ritzau reports.
"We are happy to cooperate with other countries, including the United States," he writes.
Sweden's Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) stands "wholeheartedly behind our neighboring country on these issues and will always stand up for international law," in a statement to TT.
Former member of the House of Representatives and police officer Jeff Landry is a Trump loyalist. He is known for his tough stance on criminals and his opposition to abortion, and has, among other things, signed a law that forces public schools to display the Bible's Ten Commandments.
