President Donald Trump announced he’s planning to send a U.S. hospital ship to Greenland, claiming he’s dispatching the vessel because Greenlanders are not receiving proper health care.
“Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, 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. It’s on the way!!!” he wrote in a Saturday Truth Social post alongside what appeared to be an illustration of USNS Mercy, the lead ship of hospital ships in non-commissioned service with the U.S. Navy.
In December, Trump named Landry as his special envoy to Greenland.
Trump’s post came hours after Denmark’s military said its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine in Greenlandic waters for urgent medical treatment. It is unclear if Trump’s post had any connection to the evacuation. He did not clarify whether Greenland asked for the extra medical assistance nor why they would need it.
On Sunday, Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said “no thanks” to Trump’s plan to send the ship to Greenland in a Facebook post.
