“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 said in a social media post.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he is going to dispatch a hospital ship to Greenland, the Arctic island Trump has said he wants to acquire.
“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!!!” Trump said in a post on social media alongside an illustration of the U.S. hospital ship the Mercy.
Trump appointed Landry as his special envoy to Greenland just before Christmas, as the U.S. president continued his push for control of the self-ruling Danish territory, which he has said is vital for American national security.
Trump announced the plan to send a hospital ship just before hosting a dinner for Republican governors at the White House, where he sat next to Landry.
It was unclear what prompted Trump to make the announcement. The White House and the Pentagon haven’t commented on the president’s post. The Danish government and the administration in Greenland also haven’t commented.
Landry reposted Trump’s message in a separate social media post, adding: “Proud to work with you on this important issue!”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen earlier this month called the continuing U.S. pressure over Greenland “unacceptable,” in remarks at the Munich Security Conference. “Let me put it this way: If one NATO country attacks another NATO country, then NATO ends. Then it’s game over,” she said.
On Sunday, Frederiksen extolled Denmark’s health care system, without mentioning the hospital ship being deployed by Trump. “Am 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,” the prime minister said in a post on Facebook.
The U.S. Navy has two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and the USNS Comfort, that support troops during deployments and provide services for U.S. disaster relief and humanitarian operations.
According to media reports, Trump’s post came hours after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command said it had evacuated a American crew member who required urgent medical treatment from a U.S. submarine in Greenland’s waters. It was unclear if Trump’s post had any connection to the evacuation.
