JD Vance has launched into a scathing series of attacks on Denmark as he made a landmark appearance at a US military base in Greenland.
The US Vice President said his boss Donald Trump "respects the self-determination" of the people of the Arctic territory - but laid down the law to Europe and Canada as he reeled off a list of verbal barbs at his under-fire allies.
Greenlanders would be "a lot better coming under the US security umbrella than you have been under Denmark's security umbrella," he vowed.
"Because what Denmark's security umbrella has meant is, effectively, they've passed it all off to brave Americans and hope that we would pick up the tab."
The US Vice President said his boss Donald Trump 'respects the self-determination' of the people of the Arctic territory
POOL
He also vowed that America would protect the world's largest island from "economic exploitation" - and added: "What we want to do is to protect the security of this territory, because it matters for us - and it matters for the people who live here."
As for how the US would achieve its goal of annexing Greenland, Vance said: "Look, the President said he doesn't think that military force is going to be necessary, but he absolutely believes that Greenland is important part of the security, not just of the United States, but of the world.
"We could make them much more secure, we could do a lot more protection, and I think they'd fare a lot better economically as well.
"This has to happen, and the reason it has to happen, I hate to say it, is because our friends in Denmark have not done their job in keeping this area safe. They just haven't done it."
LATEST AS TRUMP EYES UP GREENLAND:
JD Vance has launched into a scathing series of attacks on Denmark
REUTERS
And turning his attention to Canada, Vance blasted: "As President Trump often says, they just don't have the cards.
"There is no way that Canada can win a trade war with the United States."
He added that Trump ran for re-election on a ticket of "we’re done being the piggy bank of the entire world for 40 years" - and accused "our European friends" of neglecting international security over the same period.
Before Vance's arrival in Greenland - when the trip was set to be spearheaded by his wife, Usha - the territory's Prime Minister Mute Egede branded the visit a "provocation" in a series of barbed swipes at the US.
"Until recently, we could trust the Americans, who were our allies and friends, and with whom we enjoyed working closely," Egede told local newspaper Sermitsiaq. "But that time is over."
Mute Egede branded the visit a "provocation" in a series of barbed swipes at the US
REUTERS
As Vance's visit was underway, Trump told reporters at the White House that the US needs Greenland to ensure the "peace of the entire world".
"We need Greenland, very importantly, for international security. We have to have Greenland. It's not a question of: 'Do you think we can do without it?' We can't," Trump said.
The 47th President also said that Greenland's seas have "Chinese and Russian ships all over the place" and the United States will not rely on Denmark or anybody else to handle the situation.
Denmark and the European Union understand why Greenland is important for peace around the world "and if they don't, we're going to have to explain it to them," Trump added.