Second lady Usha Vance — not to mention National Security Adviser Michael Waltz — is heading to Greenland this week on an official visit — though not necessarily at the invitation of Greenlandic or Danish authorities.

Are the visits a good idea — friendly diplomacy to our Arctic neighbor, with which the United States has long had excellent relations, or a metaphorical slap in the face, given President Donald Trump’s threats to take over the island nation?

That’s our Question of the Week for readers.

After learning of the American mission, which also includes the energy secretary, on Sunday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute B. Egede characterized the trip as “highly aggressive.”

“What is the national security adviser doing in Greenland?” he asked in an interview with a Greenlandic newspaper. “The only purpose is to demonstrate power over us.”

The administration characterizes the planned visit as a friendly one. The White House issued a statement saying Vance would travel with one of her children on Thursday to view Greenland’s national dog-sled race, Avannaata Qimussersu, before coming home on Saturday.

“Ms. Vance and the delegation are excited to witness this monumental race and celebrate Greenlandic culture and unity,” the statement said.

Is she really going to the icy island just to see a dog race?

On Monday, Trump said the Greenland trips are “not provocation,” although he continued to say the U.S. should annex the semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. “We’ve been invited,” Trump said, declining to specify who invited Vance and Waltz.

Can U.S. officials, and spouses of them, just show up internationally as they please?

The U.S. has long maintained a military base on the island, and has other ties. All the hoopla aside, would it in fact be a good fit, this proposed annexation? Is it actually in the security interests of our country, and so inevitable eventually?

Organizers of the race say that while they didn’t invite Vance, she can attend as would any spectator.

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