Trump's Greenland Hospital Ship Offer Rejected, Sparking Diplomatic Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to send a hospital ship to Greenland via his Truth Social platform, but the offer was promptly rejected by Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, according to reports. The announcement came hours after a sick U.S. soldier was evacuated from a nuclear-powered submarine near Greenland, though the timing appears coincidental.

Trump reportedly wrote on Truth Social that the United States would send a hospital ship to Greenland "to take care of the many people who are sick and not taken care of there." However, neither Greenland nor Denmark had requested such assistance.

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded on Facebook, stating: "It will be a no thank you from here. President Trump's idea of sending an American hospital ship to Greenland is noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. That's not the case in the U.S. where it costs money to go to the doctor."

Denmark's government also denied any knowledge of an American hospital ship heading to Greenland. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish media that Greenland's population receives the healthcare it needs on Greenland, and Greenlanders can also get specialized care in Denmark.

The diplomatic situation escalated when U.S. Greenland envoy Jeff Landry attacked Nielsen on social media, writing: "Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen should be ashamed!" Landry claimed to have spoken with many Greenlanders who said healthcare was their biggest daily problem and stated that "a healthy Greenland is crucial for U.S. national security."

The incident follows reports of a U.S. nuclear submarine operating near Greenland, from which a sick soldier was evacuated by a Danish military helicopter and taken to a hospital in Nuuk, Greenland's capital. The soldier's condition was reportedly not combat-related.