Greenland doesn’t need Trump’s hospital boat - we have free healthcare, says prime minister

President Donald Trump’s plan to send a U.S. hospital boat to Greenland has been politely declined by leaders in region - who noted that they have “free and equal access to health for all.”

With little explanation, Trump said he would send the vessel in a Truth Social post Saturday. “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!!!” the president wrote.

Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in the U.S. acquiring Greenland, vowing to take over the Danish territory “one way or the other” — which Danish and Greenland officials have vehemently rejected.

His offer of a hospital boat was also quickly rejected by officials in both Greenland and Denmark. “That will be a ‘no thanks’ from us,” Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, wrote on Facebook Sunday. “President Trump’s idea to send a U.S. hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted. But we have a public health system where care is free for citizens.”

“Happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment. You have the same approach in Greenland. Happy Sunday to you all,” Mette Frederiksen, the Danish prime minister, also wrote.

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Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen also responded to Trump’s claim that the people of Greenland were being denied medical care.

“The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs,” he told the Danish broadcaster DR, according to the Guardian. “They receive it either in Greenland or, if they require specialized treatment, they receive it in Denmark. So it’s not as if there’s a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland.”

“Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics,” Lund Poulsen added.

The president’s post Saturday did not specify why a hospital boat was needed or which boat would be sent. However, the post included an illustration of the USNS Mercy, one of two hospital ships operated by the U.S. Navy.

The USNS Mercy and its sister vessel, the USNS Comfort, are moored in Mobile, Alabama, according to naval trackers.

The Independent has requested more information from the White House, the Department of Defense and Gov Landry’s office.

The announcement was made hours after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command evacuated a crew member from a U.S. submarine in Greenlandic waters, according to Reuters. The crew member required urgent medical attention, authorities said.

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The U.S. Navy sailor was medically evacuated from a nuclear-powered submarine that broke from its mission and resurfaced about eight miles from Nuuk, Greenland.

Landry re-shared Trump’s announcement on X, writing: “Thank you, President @realDonaldTrump! Proud to work with you on this important issue!”

Trump has repeatedly argued the U.S. must acquire Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark, for national security purposes, even as Greenlandic officials maintain the island is not for sale.

Late last month, Trump announced the “framework of a future deal” on Greenland.

“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” he wrote on Truth Social.

Trump’s aggressive push to take over Greenland appears to be unpopular among many Americans. An AP-NORC poll from earlier this month found that 72 percent of U.S. adults disapprove of the way Trump is handling Greenland, while just 24 percent approve.