Løkke speaks about dramatic days: That was the play behind the scenes

The Danish government was prepared when it was revealed that the U.S. Vice President would make an unexpected visit to Greenland.

While Lars Løkke Rasmussen was in New York, he was in dialogue with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, he says. (Photo: © MIKE SEGAR, Ritzau Scanpix)

By Political Analyst

Pia Glud Munksgaard ([email protected]) Theodora Zander Renard ([email protected]) 55 min. ago

It was during the dinner for the Moderates' annual meeting with salmon marinated in red beetroot and chicken with basil-stuffed leeks Saturday evening, that several media suddenly could report a surprising news:

The U.S. Vice President, Usha Vance, and Trump's security advisor would travel to Greenland and see the traditional dog sled race in the Greenlandic town of Sisimiut.

The news came as a shock to most, but Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen (M), who had spent Saturday at the Moderates' annual meeting.

For behind the scenes, the government was already working on handling the news of the American visit, which the government considered an unacceptable pressure from the U.S. side on Greenland and Denmark.

This is what Lars Løkke Rasmussen tells in DR's political podcast Slotsholmen (https://www.dr.dk/lyd/p1/slotsholmen/slotsholmen-2025/wild-news-about-dog-sled-visit-from-usa-breaks-midway-through-loekkes-year-mood-dinner-11802543113).

- I knew that the news would come, and I also knew how we were working on it in collaboration with people in Greenland, so I had reasonable control over it, says Løkke, who, however, did not know when the news would reach the media.

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What do I know?

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Therefore, Løkke was also faced with a challenge, because the information in the first instance was not confirmed from the American side.

- I have had some work to find out what I know, what I know I know, and what I can say I know, says Løkke.

- The only challenge I had was that there were some journalists who wanted to ask me, and at that point it was still not officially confirmed.

- So I knew what I knew, but it was not confirmed from the American side. So that was the only consideration I had Saturday evening: Should I stand up and say something to the Danish media. And I chose to let it be, because I think there was a need for it to be officially confirmed.

>

> There is more and more that suggests that it should be taken seriously.

> Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Foreign Minister

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To be countered

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The American visit was later confirmed from the American side, but according to the Americans, there was no talk of an official visit, but a private visit.

The explanation is not accepted by the Danish government, and for Løkke, the visit is intended to underscore that Trump means what he says when he says he wants Greenland.

- If you take him literally, they are indeed out to get Greenland. And there is more and more that suggests that it should be taken seriously.

- So it is the scary perspective. It is what we are up against, and it is what we must counter.

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Contact between Løkke and Frederiksen

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After the Moderates' annual meeting, Løkke traveled to New York for meetings in the UN Security Council, where he was to lead some of the meetings.

But he also took time to handle the crisis between the U.S., Greenland and Denmark.

- Foreign policy and domestic policy merge here, says Løkke.

- Of course it all hangs together, and it is also a good reason to talk to a number of European UN ambassadors.

During the journey, Lars Løkke Rasmussen was also in dialogue with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (S).

- We are in constant dialogue, and there is really not much to it, because we see it the same way. We have been in government for a long time without me going into detail about what is the challenge we face with the Realm in relation to the U.S.

- So we have a common strategy for it. It is just a matter of executing it when things happen and develop.

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The Prime Minister sharpens the rhetoric

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Tuesday morning, while Lars Løkke Rasmussen was still in New York, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen gave a short interview to DR and TV2 with the message that the visit from the U.S. is an "unacceptable pressure" on Denmark and Greenland.

With the message, Mette Frederiksen threw off the gloves and sharpened the rhetoric towards the Americans.

According to Løkke, the message had already been delivered to the Americans behind the scenes before Mette Frederiksen went on TV.

And it was that, according to Løkke, that led to the Americans ending up dropping Usha Vance and Mike Waltz' private visit to the dog sled race.

- What the Prime Minister says in the open, it is what we have already communicated to the Americans in the closed room together with our Greenlandic partners. It is what makes the Americans in reality cancel the visit they had planned, says Løkke, who already knew before it was officially announced from the American side that the private American visit was cancelled.

Instead, the American Vice President, J.D. Vance, will travel to Greenland to visit the American base Pituffik, he told the evening on X.

- All I know before you do, says Løkke.

So when Mette Frederiksen went out and talked about an unacceptable pressure, which had you in fact already had an idea that the visit would be cancelled?

- No, I had a clear knowledge that what the Prime Minister said in the open room, we had already communicated to the Americans in the closed room together with our Greenlandic partners.

- And when Vance in public and said that he was traveling with his wife to Greenland, we knew that she was not going to Greenland and see the dog sled race.

Do you see it as a retreat from the American side?

- It is at least a de-escalation, because there is nothing at all ridiculous about American politicians visiting American military installations around the world, says Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

You can hear the whole interview with Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen in the latest edition of Slotsholmen. The interview is recorded on 26.03.

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