Usha Vance’s life as second lady is about to have a lot more eyes on it as she preps for a trip to Greenland amidst Donald Trump’s continued claims that he hopes to make the country a part of the US. In her announcement of the trip on Instagram on March 24, Usha gave a subtle signal that she and JD didn’t see eye to eye on everything, thanks to a book you could see in the background. Then just a day after Usha’s trip announcement, JD Vance, her husband and Trump’s VP, made his own video on X (formerly known as Twitter) stating that he too would be on the trip. JD’s announcement is raising eyebrows, not for what he had in the background like Usha, but because his going on the trip almost seems like an afterthought. It’s seems to show just how much Trump doesn’t really need him around Washington, D.C., especially since he has Elon Musk at his side.

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In the video, JD gave an explanation as to why he was going to be joining in, saying, “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,” via X. But despite him saying “I decided,” it seems like the decision had to have been made by Trump. We don’t see JD going on an international trip without the president wanting him to.

We’re not exactly sure what the reasoning is behind JD Vance suddenly joining Usha Vance’s Greenland trip. Some think it could be because of the Signal debacle that unfolded the same day that Usha announced her visit; JD was revealed to be a part of a group chat that was reportedly discussing sensitive military plans while an editor for The Atlantic had been inadvertently added to the chat. In the conversation, Vance noted how he disagreed with Trump on some European policies, via The Atlantic. We do know that the trip didn’t come at the invitation of any officials in Greenland or Denmark; Greenland is a self governing territory of Denmark.

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Perhaps Trump is literally distancing himself from Vance and may have been unhappy to hear that Vance wasn’t in complete lockstep with his opinions, which could have reminded Trump of Vance’s anti-MAGA past. Whatever the reason for JD’s last minute travel plans, it seems to add to the theory that Trump is closer to Elon Musk than his actual VP.

JD getting added to the trip also seems to have changed its itinerary. Usha talked about going to a dog sledding race while in Greenland while JD emphasized looking at the “security” of the country. Instead of watching the dog sledding, they’ll be visiting a US Space Force base on the island.