MxM News

Quick Hit:

Vice President JD Vance announced he will join Second Lady Usha Vance in Greenland on Friday, escalating the Trump administration’s focus on the island amid growing global interest and resistance from Danish and Greenlandic officials.

Key Details:

• Vance will join Usha Vance and U.S. officials already in Greenland, including National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.
• The trip includes a stop at Pituffik Space Base to assess Arctic security and meet with U.S. Space Force guardians.
• Greenland’s prime minister called the second lady’s earlier visit an “aggressive” move as Trump reaffirms his interest in acquiring the island.

Diving Deeper:

Vice President JD Vance confirmed Tuesday that he will accompany Second Lady Usha Vance to Greenland at the end of the week, intensifying U.S. engagement with the strategically located island that President Donald Trump has long said should be part of the United States. The visit reflects the administration’s ongoing efforts to strengthen America’s geopolitical presence in the Arctic and counter growing threats from adversarial nations seeking influence in the region.

“You know, there was so much excitement around Usha’s visit to Greenland this Friday that I decided that I didn’t want her to have all that fun by herself, and so I’m going to join her,” Vance said in a video posted to X, formerly Twitter.

The vice president said he will be visiting U.S. Space Force personnel stationed at Pituffik Space Base on Greenland’s northwest coast, where he will receive a briefing on security developments in the Arctic and inspect key infrastructure critical to American defense.

“A lot of other countries have threatened Greenland,” Vance warned. “Have threatened to use its territories and its waterways to threaten the United States, to threaten Canada, and, of course, to threaten the people of Greenland. So we’re gonna check out how things are going there.”

The second lady’s presence already drew a sharp rebuke from Greenland’s prime minister, who denounced the visit as an “aggressive” gesture amid renewed speculation that Trump may move to formally acquire the autonomous Danish territory. Despite the backlash, Usha Vance currently holds the distinction of being the highest-ranking U.S. political figure to visit Greenland since Trump returned to the White House as the 47th president in January.

In comments that will likely raise further diplomatic alarms in Copenhagen, Vance reiterated President Trump’s broader Arctic strategy, emphasizing the administration’s commitment to defending Greenland’s people—and the world—from neglect and external threats.

“And I say that speaking for President Trump,” Vance stated, “we want to reinvigorate the security of the people of Greenland because we think it’s important to protect the security of the entire world. Unfortunately, leaders in both America and in Denmark, I think, ignored Greenland for far too long. That’s been bad for Greenland. It’s also been bad for the security of the entire world. We think we can take things in a different direction.”

With national security adviser Mike Waltz and Energy Secretary Chris Wright already on the ground, the full weight of the Trump administration’s Arctic pivot is becoming increasingly visible. Whether Denmark and other NATO allies see the move as cooperative or confrontational remains to be seen—but for now, the United States is clearly asserting itself in one of the world’s most contested and overlooked regions.

MxM News

Quick Hit:

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order aimed at restoring confidence in America’s elections by enforcing voter ID, cracking down on non-citizen voting, and ensuring compliance with existing federal election laws.

Key Details:

• The executive order criticizes the United States for falling behind other nations in securing its elections, noting that while India and Brazil use biometric voter ID systems, many U.S. states rely on self-attestation.

• Trump ordered the Election Assistance Commission to update the national voter registration form to require “documentary proof of United States citizenship,” including passports or REAL ID-compliant documents.

• The order also instructs the Department of Justice to crack down on states that count ballots received after Election Day, stating that counting late ballots is akin to letting someone “vote in person at a former voting precinct” days after polls close.

Diving Deeper:

On Tuesday, President Trump signed a far-reaching executive order titled Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections, aiming to overhaul how federal and state governments enforce longstanding election laws.

In the order’s opening section, Trump drew comparisons to foreign democracies, arguing that “the United States now fails to enforce basic and necessary election protections employed by modern, developed nations.” He cited examples including India and Brazil’s biometric-linked voter ID systems and Germany and Canada’s paper ballot requirements, adding that “many American elections now feature mass voting by mail,” often accepting ballots “without postmarks or those received well after Election Day.”

Trump’s directive enforces federal laws already on the books, such as 2 U.S.C. § 7 and 3 U.S.C. § 1, which establish a uniform national Election Day. Referencing a 2024 Fifth Circuit ruling, the order states that ballots must be both cast and received by Election Day. “This is like allowing persons who arrive 3 days after Election Day, perhaps after a winner has been declared, to vote in person… which would be absurd,” the order reads.

A central element of the order is the crackdown on non-citizen voting. It mandates that the national voter registration form include “documentary proof of United States citizenship,” such as a passport, a REAL ID-compliant card, or a military ID indicating citizenship. The order also requires that state and local officials document the specific proof of citizenship used during registration.

To assist states in cleaning up voter rolls, Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to provide access to immigration databases and mandated that the Social Security Administration share death and identity data. The Attorney General is instructed to “prioritize enforcement” of statutes that prohibit non-citizens from registering or voting and to coordinate with state officials to prosecute violations.

The order also targets election infrastructure and voting machines, requiring that all voting systems include “a voter-verifiable paper record” and banning systems that use barcodes or QR codes to contain vote data, except for accessibility needs. The Election Assistance Commission is instructed to decertify equipment that fails to meet new integrity standards within 180 days.

The executive order further aims to eliminate foreign interference by enforcing 52 U.S.C. § 30121, which bans foreign contributions to federal, state, or local elections. Trump highlighted the abuse of ballot initiative spending loopholes and committed federal enforcement resources to curtail this influence, declaring that “foreign nationals and non-governmental organizations have taken advantage of loopholes… undermining the franchise.”

Through information-sharing agreements, increased prosecution, and withholding of federal funds to uncooperative states, the order seeks to hold jurisdictions accountable for maintaining accurate voter rolls and enforcing citizenship requirements.

“In honest elections,” the order concludes, “voting methods must produce a voter-verifiable paper record… to protect against fraud or mistake.”