A Trump-appointed official who has spent years promoting closer American ties with Greenland says doing so could have an unexpected payoff: the return of all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster.<\/p>\n
Thomas Dans, the chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission and a Texas financier, made the unusual suggestion in a New Yorker magazine profile that portrayed him as one of the driving forces behind President Trump\u2019s push to expand US influence in Greenland.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cMy view is that the United States could take all the seafood Greenland could produce, and cut out the middleman, and keep it from China \u2014 and you could bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster,\u201d Dans told the New Yorker.<\/a><\/p>\n Thomas Dans, chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission, suggested Greenland\u2019s seafood industry could help bring back all-you-can-eat shrimp at Red Lobster. Artic.gov<\/p>\n The magazine reported that Dans, accused by Danish authorities of helping run \u201cinfluence operations\u201d aimed at increasing American sway over the Arctic island, served on a previously undisclosed National Security Council task force focused on Greenland during Trump\u2019s first term.<\/p>\n The Post has sought comment from Dans and the White House.<\/p>\n A longtime Trump ally, Dans also served at the Treasury Department during the president\u2019s first term, where he was counselor to the under secretary for international affairs and helped oversee portions of the federal government\u2019s pandemic-era relief efforts.<\/p>\n In recent years, however, he has become best known for his advocacy on Greenland and Arctic issues through American Daybreak, an organization that promotes closer ties between the US and Greenland.<\/p>\n Greenland has become a focal point of President Trump\u2019s efforts to expand US influence in the Arctic. REUTERS<\/p>\n Trump has spent years fixated on Greenland, arguing that the vast Arctic island is critical to American national security because of its strategic location between North America and Europe and its access to shipping routes and natural resources.<\/p>\n After first floating the idea of purchasing Greenland during his first term, Trump revived the push after returning to office, declaring that US \u201cownership and control\u201d of the territory was an \u201cabsolute necessity\u201d for national security.<\/a><\/p>\n While Trump has framed Greenland as a national-security imperative<\/a>, critics have warned that any attempt to acquire the territory would strain relations with Denmark, a longtime NATO ally.<\/p>\n Polling has also shown overwhelming opposition among Greenlanders to becoming part of the US.<\/p>\n The seafood chain brought back its \u201cEndless Shrimp\u201d special after the promotion became synonymous with the company\u2019s financial troubles. Christopher Sadowski<\/p>\n It is also unclear how a potential US acquisition of Greenland would boost Red Lobster\u2019s fortunes.<\/p>\n The chain\u2019s signature \u201cEndless Shrimp\u201d promotion has long been one of its biggest<\/a> draws, allowing diners to order unlimited servings of shrimp for a fixed price.<\/p>\n But the deal became infamous after Red Lobster\u2019s previous management team made it a permanent menu fixture in 2023, a move that attracted customers but hammered profits<\/a> as seafood and labor costs piled up.<\/p>\n Former owner Thai Union later disclosed that the promotion contributed to an operating hit of roughly $11 million during a single quarter, helping turn \u201cEndless Shrimp\u201d into a symbol of the restaurant chain\u2019s financial troubles.<\/p>\n