Greenland and Denmark firmly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to send an American hospital ship to the Arctic territory, saying Greenland’s publicly funded health system is sufficient and that any cooperation with Washington should come through formal diplomatic channels.
“It’s going to be a no thank you from here,” Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said in a social media post Sunday. He said Trump’s idea of dispatching a U.S. hospital vessel “has been duly noted,” but emphasized Greenland has a public health system with free treatment for citizens.
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“We are always open to dialogue and collaboration. Also with the U.S. But talk to us now instead of just coming up with more or less random outbursts on social media,” he added.
Trump announced the plan late Saturday on his social media platform, Truth Social, saying he was “working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry,” his appointed special envoy to Greenland, to send “a great hospital boat … to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there. It’s on the way!!!”
Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen also dismissed the need for a U.S. hospital mission. The Guardian reported Poulsen said Greenland “receives the health care it needs” either locally or in Denmark if specialized treatment is required. He added that Danish authorities had not been informed that any ship was en route.
Details about the hospital ship mission — including which vessel might be deployed and whether it had been formally requested by Greenland or Denmark — remained unclear. Analysts noted that the U.S. Navy’s two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and Comfort, typically provide humanitarian and disaster relief but were not confirmed as part of any current deployment.
The exchange highlights ongoing diplomatic sensitivities over Arctic cooperation and U.S. interest in Greenland, a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark that has strategic importance for trans-Atlantic defense and NATO operations. Last month, Greenland, Denmark and the United States launched talks to ease tensions within the alliance, which had been strained by Trump’s repeated comments about the island’s potential strategic value.
