A Trump administration official has defended President Donald Trump's controversial plan to acquire Greenland by claiming it could revive all-you-can-eat shrimp deals at Red Lobster. Tom Dans, appointed chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission in December 2024, made the unusual argument in an interview with The New Yorker's Ben Taub, published in a June 15 exposé titled "Inside the Ludicrous, Deadly Serious Plan to Take Over Greenland."
Dans Pitches Seafood Self-Sufficiency
According to Taub, Dans declined to speak on the record about Trump's fixation on seizing Greenland but offered "a narrow, symbiotic vision" for the acquisition. "My view is that the United States could take all the seafood Greenland could produce and cut out the middleman, and keep it from China — and you could bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster," Dans said.
The comment references Red Lobster's "Endless Shrimp" promotion, which multiple outlets reported contributed to the chain's financial struggles before it was discontinued in 2023. Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy in May 2024, closing 129 locations across the U.S., and confirmed earlier this month it would shut its Times Square restaurant in New York after 23 years.
Greenland Plan Persists
Taub told NPR that Dans "spent the weeks following the [2024] election pushing his Greenland agenda in conversations with people who were on the transition team until it eventually became one of Trump's central fixations." Trump has not publicly discussed the plan recently, but Taub's reporting indicates it remains active behind the scenes.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio drew criticism earlier this month for flippantly alluding to Trump's plan. When Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) asked Rubio if he was "aware that Greenland is indeed part of Denmark" during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, he replied: "For now." Rubio has not ruled out using military pressure to achieve the acquisition.
Red Lobster's Struggles
Red Lobster, based in Orlando, Florida, brought back a revised version of its Endless Shrimp offer for a limited time in April 2024 after fan requests. The chain's financial woes have been linked to the promotion, which reportedly led to significant losses. Dans' suggestion that Greenland's seafood resources could help revive the deal underscores the unconventional reasoning behind Trump's territorial ambitions.
