Denmark and Greenland have rejected Donald Trump’s offer to send a US Navy hospital ship, citing their own free public healthcare system.
COPENHAGEN: Greenland and Denmark have formally declined an offer from former US President Donald Trump to send a naval hospital ship to the Arctic island.
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated on social media, “That will be ‘no thanks’ from us.” He emphasised that Greenland provides free healthcare to its citizens, contrasting it with the US system.
“President Trump’s idea to send a US hospital ship here to Greenland has been duly noted. But we have a public health system where care is free for citizens,” Nielsen wrote. “This is not the case in the United States, where going to the doctor costs money.”
Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen echoed this sentiment, confirming Greenland receives necessary healthcare either locally or in Denmark for specialised treatment. “It’s not as if there’s a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland,” he told Danish broadcaster DR.
Trump announced the proposed deployment on his Truth Social platform, posting an AI-generated image of the USNS Mercy with the caption “It’s on the way!!!”. He claimed the ship was intended “to take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there”.
The offer followed a day where Danish forces medically evacuated a crew member from a US submarine off Greenland’s coast. The Joint Arctic Command confirmed the sailor was flown to a hospital in the capital, Nuuk.
In Greenland, healthcare is free and delivered through five regional hospitals. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, without directly referencing the US proposal, expressed pride in her country’s system where “insurance or wealth does not determine whether one receives dignified treatment”.
Greenlandic MP Aaja Chemnitz acknowledged challenges in local healthcare but stated solutions lie in cooperation with Denmark, not the US. She noted Denmark’s expertise, contrasting it with America’s “own healthcare system problems”.
Trump has long expressed a desire for US control over Greenland for national security. His previous threats to acquire the territory have subsided since a framework deal with NATO.
Defence Minister Lund Poulsen described Trump’s constant commentary on Greenland as “an expression of the new normal” in international politics. In Nuuk, residents expressed indifference to the latest remarks from the former US president.
The Sun Malaysia
