Greenland Prime Minister Rejects Trump Plan to Send US Hospital Ship

By Ginika Igboke

Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he does not support President Donald Trump’s decision to send a U.S. hospital ship to Greenland. “It’s going to be a no thank you from here,” Nielsen wrote in a Feb. 22 Facebook post, according to an English translation.

“President Trump’s idea to send an American hospital ship here to Greenland is noted. But we have a public health system where treatment is free for citizens. It’s a deliberate choice. And a basic part of our society. It’s not like that in the United States, where it costs money to go to the doctor.” Nielsen added that Greenland is “always open to dialogue and collaboration,” but urged Trump to engage directly. “Talk to us now instead of just coming up with more or less random outbursts on social media,” he wrote.

It remains unclear which specific vessel was being referenced. The rejection came a day after Trump announced on Truth Social that a hospital ship was headed to Greenland.

“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 Feb. 21 post. Trump said he coordinated the effort with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who serves as special envoy to Greenland. “It’s on the way!!!” Trump added, without specifying when the ship would arrive or what medical services it would provide. The announcement came hours after Denmark’s military said its Arctic command evacuated a crew member from a U.S. submarine for urgent medical treatment.

“The crew member needed urgent medical treatment and has been transferred to the Greenlandic health authorities and the hospital in Nuuk,” the Danish Joint Arctic Command said in a Feb. 21 Facebook post. Trump did not indicate whether that medical evacuation prompted the decision to deploy a hospital ship.

Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump has previously suggested that the United States should assume control of the island, citing strategic and national security considerations.