“Working with the fantastic governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we will send a great hospital ship to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick and underserved. It’s on its way!!! President DJT,” Trump wrote on his own Truth Social.
He added a picture of the ship, which the AFP agency described as obviously generated by artificial intelligence. It shows what she says is an American vessel named the Mercy sailing towards the snow-capped mountains on the horizon.
The US Navy has two hospital ships: the Comfort and the Mercy, both of which are in a shipyard in Alabama, according to the WSJ. Trump released the message after meeting with Landry, whom he appointed as the representative for Greenland last year.
“Random Spills”
“No, thank you,” responded the Prime Minister of Nielsen Island to the idea. “We have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,” he added, adding that Greenland remains open to dialogue and cooperation, including with the United States.
At the same time, he expressed the wish that the US would talk to Greenland instead of carrying out “more or less random outpourings on social networks”.
Danish Defense Minister Poulsen also rejected any need for American help. “The Greenlandic population has the health care they need. They either get it in Greenland, and if they need specialized treatment, it is provided in Denmark. So there is no need for a special health initiative in Greenland,” said Poulsen.
Even Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that she is happy to live in a country where access to health care is free and equal for all. Where insurance and wealth do not determine whether a person will receive decent care. “It’s the same approach in Greenland,” she wrote on Facebook, without mentioning Trump’s hospital ship announcement.
As in Denmark, access to healthcare is free in Greenland, writes AFP. Greenland has its own health care system, but relies heavily on Danish health workers. There are five regional hospitals on the vast Arctic island, while the one in the metropolis of Nuuk receives patients from the entire territory. This month, the Greenlandic government also signed an agreement with Copenhagen to improve the treatment of Greenlandic patients in Danish hospitals.
Trump published his post a few hours after the Danish Arctic Command reported that a Danish army helicopter had evacuated a sick member of the crew of an American submarine that was sailing off the coast of Greenland on Saturday.
Recently, Trump has increased the pressure in an effort to acquire Greenland. Both Nuuk and Copenhagen have repeatedly rejected American requests to hand over the island to the United States. The president justifies the need to acquire Greenland by American security and the growing influence of China and Russia in the Arctic. For some time, he also refused to rule out a military operation with the aim of acquiring Greenland. In January, after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, he finally said that he had reached a framework agreement on Greenland. Recently, NATO launched a mission aimed at strengthening the alliance’s role in the region.
