President Donald Trump said the ship was being sent to Greenland in a Truth Social post on Feb. 21.
Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said he does not support President Donald Trump’s decision to send a hospital ship to Greenland.
“It’s going to be a no thank you from here,” according to a translation of Nielsen’s Facebook post on Feb. 22.
“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 said Greenland is “always open to dialogue and collaboration” but requested Trump “talk to us now instead of just coming up with more or less random outbursts on social media.”
It’s not clear which ship was sent.
The rejection came one day after Trump said on Truth Social that a hospital ship was on its way to the country.
“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 shared in a Truth Social post on Feb. 21.
Trump said he worked with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who serves as special envoy to Greenland, on making the trip a reality.
“It’s on the way!!!” Trump added.
Trump did not say when the ship would arrive or what health issues crews on board are going to help treat.
The announcement was made hours after Denmark’s military said its arctic command forces evacuated a crew member of 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 shared on its Facebook page Feb. 21.
Trump did not say if the crew member’s medical issue inspired him to act and deploy the ship to Greenland, which is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark that Trump has long suggested should be under control of the United States for strategic and national and global security reasons.
The Epoch Times contacted the White House and Landry for additional information but did not hear back by time of publication.
By Jacki Thrapp
