US delegation’s Greenland visit mixes diplomacy with muskox hotdogs and campaign caps

A six-day US visit to Nuuk wrapped Sunday with commemorative coins, promises of chocolate chip cookies for Greenlandic children, and a delegation that included not just Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and his wife but also her twin sister—dubbed the “second lady”—alongside a security detail unpacking red Make America Great Again hats from their luggage.

The trip, billed as a relationship-building mission, began May 17 when Landry’s plane touched down in Nuuk to an empty reception: no officials, no flags, and no crowds lining the road where dignitaries are typically greeted. Instead, Landry—wearing camouflage pants—strolled through a quiet Sunday in the capital, handing out Louisiana jubilee coins to curious children on bicycles. When one boy asked if he was famous, Landry’s wife explained he was the governor of Louisiana. Landry himself later promised the children “as many chocolate chip cookies as you want” if they visited the US.

The delegation was an unusual mix. Alongside Landry and his wife, Sharon, was her twin sister, Sheila (“the second lady,” she joked), a burly security guard, a press aide, a physician eager to study Greenland’s healthcare system, and Douglas, a friend spotted days earlier in Nuuk’s nightlife. Landry insisted his visit was purely about “listening and learning,” dismissing questions about US ambitions to acquire Greenland. “Oh no, no—I’m just here to build relationships,” he said.

On May 18, US Ambassador to Denmark Ken Howery arrived from Copenhagen, joining Landry for a meeting with Greenland’s government. Premier Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Foreign Minister Múte B. Egede emerged an hour later to declare the talks respectful but unproductive. “There’s a big difference in how much people know about Greenland,” Nielsen said dryly, adding that no number of “chocolate cookies” would shift Greenland’s “red lines” on sovereignty. He reiterated that all US-Greenland dialogue must run through the joint Danish-Greenlandic high-level working group in Washington—not parallel tracks like Landry’s visit.

The following day, Landry briefly attended the Future Greenland business conference at Nuuk’s Katuaq cultural center, departing after 45 minutes for what aides called “important meetings in town.” His local host, Jørgen Boassen—a vocal Donald Trump supporter—had stacked MAGA hats nearby.