One of President Donald Trump's ambassadors is trying to downplay his second job, but another former diplomat is issuing a warning.
It's rare for the governor of a state to take on a second job, but that's what Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) did when he agreed to be Trump's "Ambassador to Greenland." There is no official position of ambassador to Greenland, as Greenland is a territory of Denmark. Still, Trump wanted it, and Landry was happy to comply as a special envoy.
Now he's trying to spell out how he can do both jobs at once. Speaking to The Washington Post, he explained that he's not an ambassador, in that he lives and works in Greenland, as others do.
“Look, I think that the titles can somewhat be misleading,” he began. “I look at my job under this as almost like a representative of the United States and the state of Louisiana, to see what kind of economic opportunities there could be with trade in Greenland and Louisiana.”
He said in a December episode of "The Will Cain Show" that since summers in Louisiana are so horrible, Greenland is looking like a great tourist destination for those in his home state.
Thus far, his side hustle has consisted of talking about the U.S. and Greenland on television.
“They tell me they like to hunt, they like to fish, they like to have a good time,” Landry said in a Fox News interview. “I’m like, ‘Y’all belong in Louisiana.’”
“We should go to Greenland and say, ‘Hey, what kind of opportunities would you like? What are we doing? What can we offer you that Europe is not?” he added when speaking on CNBC.
The Post told a story about a Trump fan from Greenland who attended the inauguration and Turning Point USA inaugural ball. The report described him as the type of person that one would imagine the administration reaching out to. No one has.
But neither has Per Berthelsen, a member of Greenland's parliament. Aaja Chemniz, a Greenlandic member of Parliament in Denmark, chairs the Greenland committee. She hasn't heard from Landry either.
"As of last week, Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, hadn’t heard from Landry, either. Nor had Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), his Democratic counterpart. Nor Jesper Moller Sorensen, the Danish ambassador to the United States. Nor Jacob Isbosethsen, the Greenland representative to the United States and Canada."
Landry said he replied to some emails from people in Greenland. But, he told Fox, “I’m not interested in going to an embassy and talking to diplomats."
"I haven’t gotten directly on the phone yet,” he told the Post. “There can be a language barrier, me and the U.S., let alone me and Greenlandic or Danish.”
He also wasn't at the meeting between Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland. During their hour-long conversation, the Post said that Landry's name never came up once.
The day after the meeting, Landry said he went to Washington to meet with Rubio. He also said that he has chatted with the governor of Alaska about going on a trip to Greenland at some point.
When the Post asked whether he was still the special envoy, Landry assumed he was.
“As far as I know, he hasn’t dismissed me,” Landry said.
His plan is to have a kind of “culinary diplomacy,” to win over Greenlanders who have been hostile to the U.S. after Trump's threats.
“They catch a lot of fish there,” he said. “Maybe we can teach them how to make a Greenland version of gumbo.”
“You think gumbo is going to want to make them be purchased?” asked Rufus Gifford, who was President Barack Obama's ambassador to Denmark. “You’re in for a rude awakening.”