Greenland Rejects Trump’s Hospital Ship Offer, Says U.S. Aid Not Needed
Greenland’s leadership has rejected President Donald Trump’s suggestion that the United States send a hospital ship to the island, saying the territory does not need outside medical assistance.
Trump wrote late Saturday on Truth Social that a “great hospital boat” was being sent to Greenland “to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there.” He shared an image of the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Mercy, saying it was “on the way.”
However, ship-tracking data and maritime reports indicated the Mercy was undergoing maintenance in Mobile, Alabama, and there was no public evidence that a U.S. hospital ship had departed for Greenland. The Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which has not publicly clarified the matter.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded sharply on Facebook, calling the proposal unnecessary. “It’s going to be a no thank you from here,” Nielsen wrote, emphasizing that Greenland’s publicly funded health care system is a “deliberate choice.”
He contrasted Greenland’s universal system with the United States, where “it costs money to go to the doctor.” Nielsen added that while Greenland remains open to cooperation with Washington, it prefers formal dialogue over what he described as “random outbursts on social media.”
Greenland is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, controlling most domestic affairs, including health care, while Denmark oversees defense and foreign policy.
Denmark’s Defense Ministry said it had no additional information about a hospital ship heading to Greenland. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told local media he had not been informed of any such deployment and said American medical assistance was not required.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also underscored Denmark’s health care system in a social media post, writing that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health care for everyone.” She added that the same principle applies in Greenland.
The exchange comes amid months of tension over Trump’s push for expanded U.S. access and influence in Greenland, a strategically important Arctic territory. U.S. officials have signaled interest in increasing missile defense and surveillance capabilities on the island, heightening diplomatic friction between Washington, Copenhagen and Nuuk.
