An iceberg floats in Disko Bay as the sun sets near Ilulissat, Greenland, Wednesday, January 28, 2026. EVGENIY MALOLETKA / AP
President Donald Trump said Saturday, February 21, he was sending a hospital boat to Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory that he has long coveted and threatened to seize by force. He said the boat would treat many "sick" people in Greenland, without providing any details on who he was referring to or the number of people the vessel would help.
"We are going to send a great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there," Trump wrote in a social media post. "It's on the way!!!" he added.
Trump's rhetoric has ratcheted up tensions between the United States and Denmark, while putting the global spotlight on the Arctic as he insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and NATO security against Russia and China.
The post on his Truth Social platform carried an apparent AI image that depicted the USNS Mercy – an 894-foot (272-meter) vessel that is typically stationed in southern California – sailing toward snowcapped mountains on the horizon. It was unclear if that was the actual vessel being sent to Greenland.
