COPENHAGEN — President Trump said he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care, even though both of the U.S. Navy’s hospital ships are currently docked at a shipyard in Alabama.
Trump’s announcement prompted a defense Sunday of Denmark and Greenland’s universal healthcare system from their leaders, and it was the latest point of friction with the U.S. leader who has frequently talked about seizing the Danish territory in the Arctic.
“It’s a no thank you from here,” said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
Trump’s social media post about a hospital ship came after Denmark’s military said its Arctic command forces on Saturday evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine off the coast of Greenland for urgent medical treatment.
The Danish Joint Arctic Command, on its Facebook page, said the crew member was evacuated some eight nautical miles off Nuuk, the capital of the vast, ice-covered territory, and transferred to a hospital in the city. The crew member was retrieved by a Danish Seahawk helicopter that had been deployed on an inspection ship.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform Saturday night, referred to his special envoy for Greenland and said, “Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, 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. It’s on the way!!!”
Nielsen said it wasn’t necessary.
“We have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. That is a deliberate choice — and a fundamental part of our society,” Nielsen said. “That is not how it works in the USA, where it costs money to see a doctor.”
He added, in a note of exasperation, that Greenland is always open to dialogue and cooperation. “But please talk to us instead of just making more or less random statements on social media,” he said.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, speaking to public broadcaster DR, said Danish authorities had not been informed that the U.S. ship was on its way.
The Pentagon referred questions about the status of the Navy’s two hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, to the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to repeated requests for more information.
Both ships are at a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., according to social media posts from the shipyard, which also posted photos of them next to each other.
When asked about the status of the ships and the president’s post, the Navy referred questions to the White House.
The historically strong bilateral ties after World War II between NATO allies Denmark and the United States have come under severe strain in recent months as Trump ratcheted up talk of a possible U.S. takeover of the mineral-rich and strategically located Arctic island.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended Denmark’s healthcare system on Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment.”
“You have the same approach in Greenland,” she said, before adding: “Happy Sunday to you all” along with a blushing, smiling emoji.
Aaja Chemnitz, one of the two Greenlandic politicians in the Danish parliament, wrote on Facebook that “Donald Trump wants to send a poorly maintained hospital ship to Greenland. It seems rather desperate and does not contribute to the permanent and sustainable strengthening of the health care system that we need.”
“Another day. Another crazy news story,” she wrote alongside a smiley face emoji.
Keaten and Toropin write for the Associated Press. AP writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
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