Trump's Greenland envoy faces uphill battle on mission to make 'friends'

President Donald Trump's special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, has begun his first visit to the Arctic island in a bid to build ties and make "friends"."I'm here simply to build relationships, to look, to listen and to learn," Landry said after stepping off an official US plane in Greenland's capital Nuuk on Monday. But Landry's visit to the territory, a semi-autonomous part of Denmark, has touched a nerve, with Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen reiterating his country is "not for sale" and some Greenlanders giving Landry the cold shoulder.The trip comes amid efforts to resolve a diplomatic crisis sparked by the US president when he threatened to seize Greenland by force.Accompanied by a small entourage, Landry, who is also Governor of Louisiana, travelled for a business summit and will attend the opening of a new US consulate building.Also travelling with him is an American doctor, who told Danish network TV2 that he had volunteered "to assess the medical needs" in Greenland - a move that the country's Health Minister Anna Wangenheim criticised as "deeply problematic". Trump announced in February that he was sending a US hospital ship to Greenland, an offer flatly rejected by Greenland's leader.Having been appointed to the envoy role in December 2025, Landry said the US president had told him to "go over there, and make a bunch of friends".