JD Vance was mocked online on Friday (March 28) after he seemingly "waved at an absent crowd" upon his arrival in Greenland.

The vice-president landed in the territory with his spouse, Usha, and proceeded to the US military's Pituffik Space Base for a national security briefing. "It's cold as s*** here. Nobody told me," he confessed while meeting the troops.

Despite stating the obvious, Vance brushed any awkwardness aside as he reiterated to them that President Donald Trump "is really interested in Arctic security, as you all know, and it's only going to get bigger over the coming decades."

Social media users on X couldn't resist teasing the 40-year old, however, when footage of him disembarking Air Force 2 was shared online. "The uninvited guests have arrived in Greenland and are waving to a crowd that isn't there," the clip's caption read.

The video displayed the couple stepping off the plane and acknowledging the onlookers, but a wider shot showed a sparse gathering consisting mainly of security personnel and a scattering of members of the press.

One X user quipped in response: "They learned that wave thingy from Trump. Always waving at folk that weren't there." Another shared their experience in the region: "I lived there for 18 months. Many days I would only see maybe five people.

"I worked alternating 12 and 18 hour shifts with five days off during that 18 months. You're either working or sleeping. There are no crowds at Thule for anything."

A third individual critiqued: "That they always have to wave to nobody. It is so ridiculous. They seem to think we are stupid." A fourth person claimed: "Blatantly obvious they aren't welcome but they still go anyways, they deserve all the criticism they get."

Meanwhile, a fifth pointed out: "I really couldn't see any crowds. They were waving to no one. Do you think that Fox News will edit this footage to just show them waving at the 'crowds', and hope their viewers will assume that there were lots of Greenlanders there welcoming them?"

A local business that was due to host the vice-president and his wife during their visit this week has cancelled a scheduled trip, meanwhile. It comes amid anger of the Trump administration’s "underlying agenda" for the visit.

Tupilak Travel in Nuuk revealed on Facebook on Wednesday that the US Consulate had reached out to them to schedule a meet-and-greet with Usha. The trip was initially billed as a family-friendly holiday with Usha and one of her children, during which they would watch the annual dogsled competition.

However, after it emerged that she would be joined by her husband and National Security advisor, Mike Waltz, the store told the US Consulate they did not want her to visit.