Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said Friday that President Donald Trump sees Greenland as a major strategic and economic opportunity for the United States, arguing that deeper American involvement could unlock massive oil production and reshape global energy dynamics.
Landry, who currently serves as Trump’s special envoy to Greenland, appeared on Fox News following his first official visit to the Danish territory since Trump renewed calls for the United States to acquire the Arctic island for what the president has described as national security reasons.
“My trip was great except I could not get Fox News there, so, that was the only disappointing part,” Landry joked during an interview with Fox & Friends host Charlie Hurt.
Beyond the humor, Landry painted a picture of Greenland as a rugged and resource-rich territory whose people, he claimed, share cultural similarities with Louisiana’s Cajun communities.
“Really met a lot of different people, spoke to people on the street, visited with people in their homes,” Landry said. “Found a lot of commonality between the Inuit and Greenland people and the Cajun culture down in Louisiana.”
“These are people who are fiercely independent,” he continued. “They live off the land, they live in harsh environments. They fish, they hunt.”
Landry also claimed that Greenlanders are more open to stronger ties with the United States than many media reports suggest.
“The one thing that I did get, Charlie, they do love and embrace the United States,” Landry said. “So, contrary to what you read in the paper, they appreciate and want more U.S. involvement in Greenland.”
The Louisiana governor argued that closer cooperation with the United States could bring economic prosperity to the island in much the same way oil and gas transformed Louisiana’s economy over decades.
“The president understands that — he wants a deal,” Landry said. “Greenland needs the deal.”
Landry then made an ambitious claim regarding the island’s potential energy output, arguing Greenland could quickly become a major global supplier of oil.
“We could be — Greenland could be exporting two billion barrels of oil a day right now,” he said. “Think about what that would mean. Think about what kind of pressure that would relieve in the Straits of Hormuz.”
Landry suggested that expanded Arctic production could reduce geopolitical pressure tied to instability in the Middle East while strengthening the position of both the United States and its Western allies.
“Think about what kind of leverage that would give to the Western Hemisphere and America,” he continued. “Think about the help that would give to Europe right now.”
Landry also claimed such production could begin rapidly, saying, “Literally, we could have those barrels on production within 10 months or so.”
The governor praised Trump’s interest in Greenland, saying previous administrations failed to seriously pursue the opportunity.
“The president is the only president in the last 30 or 40 years to actually care about doing something and putting Greenland on the map,” Landry declared.
At the same time, Landry said resistance to Trump’s proposal appeared to come more from Denmark than from Greenland itself.
“I think the most pressure that we felt from a pushback didn’t come from Greenland,” Landry said. “It basically came from the Danes which is simply disturbing and disappointing.”
“I think it is time for them to get to the table and get a deal done,” he added.
The remarks come months after Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen rejected Trump’s renewed push to “acquire” Greenland following a White House meeting involving Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance.
Rasmussen called the proposal “totally unacceptable” to both Denmark and Greenland.
The growing debate over Greenland reflects the broader global scramble for energy, shipping routes, and Arctic influence as tensions continue rising around the world. Supporters argue stronger American involvement could boost energy independence and reduce reliance on unstable regions abroad, while critics warn that geopolitical competition over strategic territory risks deepening international friction at an already volatile moment.
