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The president recently took to social media to announce a collaborative effort with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, aimed at addressing healthcare needs in Greenland. “With the exceptional Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we are dispatching a remarkable hospital ship to Greenland to aid many individuals in need of medical care. It’s on the way!!!” he posted, accompanied by an image of the USNS Mercy, a naval hospital vessel.
The specifics of this initiative remain unclear, as both Greenland and Denmark already operate under comprehensive, free healthcare systems.
CNN has reached out to the White House and Governor Landry’s office for additional information. Inquiries directed to the Pentagon were forwarded to the US Northern Command, which then referred them to the US Navy.
As of now, the Navy has not provided a comment.
Governor Landry, who was appointed by the president as a special envoy to Greenland last December, expressed his enthusiasm on social media, stating he is “proud to work” alongside the president on “this important issue.”
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said “no thank you” in a statement responding to Trump’s announcement.
“President Trump’s idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens,” Nielsen said.
“That is a deliberate choice – and a fundamental part of our society. That is not how it works in the USA, where it costs money to see a doctor.”
He added that Greenland is “open to dialogue and cooperation. But please talk to us instead of just making more or less random statements on social media. Dialogue and cooperation require respect for the fact that decisions about our country are made here at home.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended the country’s health care system Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “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,” according to the Associated Press.
Trump’s post came after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command said in a statement Saturday it had evacuated a crew member needing urgent medical treatment from a US submarine in Greenlandic waters. The crew member was transferred to the Greenlandic health authorities and a hospital in Nuuk.
The US Navy has two mobile hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and the USNS Comfort, that support troops during deployments and provide services for US disaster relief and humanitarian operations. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Navy deployed the USNS Comfort to New York City, the epicentre of the virus outbreak in the US.
The Mercy is moored in Mobile, Alabama, according to the ship tracking website Marinetraffic.com. It’s not clear where the Comfort is located, though the website indicated it was also in Mobile earlier this month.
Neither ship appears ready to immediately deploy.
Strategically located Greenland is the world’s least densely populated country and, due to the limited network of roads, its 56,000 residents travel by boat, helicopter and plane between the island’s towns. The US has one military base in Greenland, the Pituffik Space Base, which is on the western coast of the island.
Trump’s post comes a month after his escalated efforts to obtain Greenland shook European allies as he asserted the US would settle for nothing less than total control of the country.
In late January, Trump announced “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland with the NATO chief, but his continued interest in the Arctic island raises questions about Greenland’s sovereignty.
The idea of US leadership has rattled Greenlanders, including municipal engineer Ludvig Petersen.
He previously told CNN that his main aversion to American control stems from the issue of private health care.
“I don’t like the idea of becoming part of America,” he said.
“My primary concern is all this privatisation of health care and education. It’s not something we are used to.”
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