President Donald Trump announced plans to send a U.S. Navy hospital ship to Greenland to treat residents, as he continues his push to annex the Danish territory.
According to CNN and The Wall Street Journal on January 21, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social: "Working with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to send a hospital ship to Greenland to address the many sick people who are not getting proper care. Going now!"
The move is interpreted as part of Trump's characteristic carrot-and-stick approach, combining conciliatory gestures with aggressive tactics including tariff threats and hints at military force to pursue Greenland's incorporation.
The U.S. Navy operates two large hospital ships, each equipped with 1,000 beds. The White House has not specified which vessel would be deployed.
Greenland's approximately 56,000 residents, who live in the Danish autonomous territory, already receive free healthcare. Local reaction to Trump's offer has been frosty.
Greenlandic activist Orla Joelsen wrote on social media: "Thanks, but no thanks. We are healthy and doing well eating traditional foods like vitamin-rich seal blubber." He added that "Trump would be better off focusing on American healthcare, which is plagued by high costs."
Danish and Greenlandic leaders also dismissed Trump's remarks.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen posted on Facebook: "I am happy to live in a country where everyone has free and equal access to healthcare—not determined by insurance or wealth as in America. The same principles apply in Greenland."
Greenland's Defense Minister Trøels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR: "I have no information about a U.S. hospital ship arriving in Greenland. Greenlandic residents receive necessary medical services, and those requiring specialized treatment go to Denmark. There is no situation requiring special medical assistance in Greenland."
Greenland, with a territory more than three times the size of Texas, operates five hospitals. The capital Nuuk's hospital provides care for patients from across the territory.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to incorporate Greenland into U.S. territory, citing its abundant rare earth minerals and strategic importance for countering Russia and China. The Trump administration's National Security Strategy released last year declared its intention to fully block threats from external competitors in the Western Hemisphere, including Greenland.