Denmark’s defense minister on Sunday rejected a plan by President Trump to send a “great hospital boat” to Greenland, the Arctic island and semiautonomous territory of Denmark that Mr. Trump has long sought to acquire.
The president said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday that the boat would “take care of the many people who are sick, and not being taken care of there,” adding that it was “on the way!!!”
But Troels Lund Poulsen, the Danish defense minister, told Denmark’s public broadcaster, DR, that his government had not been made aware the plan. He said that there was “no need for special health care efforts” in Greenland.
It was not clear why Mr. Trump planned to assist Greenland with its health care. Greenlanders have the right to health care that is free at the point of use, including prescription medications, according to the Nordic regional body.
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark also appeared to respond to Mr. Trump’s announcement, though she did not mention Mr. Trump or the United States. “I’m happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health care for everyone,” she wrote in a post on Instagram on Sunday. “The same approach exists in Greenland,” she said.
Mr. Trump’s announcement appeared to be another salvo in his continuing pressure campaign on Greenland, which he has openly coveted for years. Mr. Trump last month appeared to back down from escalating threats to seize Greenland for the United States, though negotiations over his administration’s demands continued this month, and tensions with European leaders over the issue remain.
In his social media post, Mr. Trump said he was working with Gov. Jeff Landry of Louisiana to send the hospital ship. Mr. Trump named Mr. Landry, a fierce Trump loyalist with little foreign policy experience, to act as an envoy to the island last year. Mr. Landry said in a post on X on Saturday that he was “proud” to work with the president on “this important issue!”
Mr. Trump also accompanied his post with an illustration of the U.S.N.S. Mercy, a Navy hospital ship. According to gCaptain, a blog widely read in the maritime industry, the ship had been undergoing maintenance in drydock at the Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, Ala., since 2025. The Navy’s other hospital ship, the U.S.N.S. Comfort, was also moored in Mobile, the blog reported.
The White House and the office of Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen of Greenland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maya Tekeli contributed reporting from Copenhagen.
Ali Watkins covers international news for The Times and is based in Belfast.
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