Denmark appears to be politely declining President Donald Trump’s offer to send a hospital boat to aid Greenland with what he said were “the many people who are sick” on the island territory.
In a statement on Sunday in response, Denmark’s Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the country has adequate health resources for its citizens, including those in Greenland.
“The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs,” Lund Poulsen said during a Sunday television appearance. “They receive it either in Greenland, or, if they require specialised treatment, they receive it in Denmark. So it’s not as if there’s a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland.”
In a post to Facebook on Sunday, Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said Trump’s proposal was “noted.”
“We have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,” Nielsen posted. “But talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media.”
Earlier on Sunday Trump said he was working with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry to send a hospital boat to the massive island. The post was accompanied with an apparent AI-generated image of a massive ship named “USNS Mercy” bearing an American flag and Red Cross symbols crossing an ocean at sunset.
He also suggested that Greenland’s population was not being adequately served by the current health infrastructure — which is an extension of Denmark’s publicly funded system.
“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,” Trump continued. “It’s on the way!!!”
Lund Poulsen said he was not aware of a timeline for the ship’s arrival and expressed doubt about the seriousness of Trump’s intentions.
“Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland,” he said. “So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics.”
Trump has renewed his calls for an American takeover of Greenland in recent months. Trump departed from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month with “the framework” for a “long-term deal that lasts forever” regarding Greenland.
“We have a concept of a deal. I think it’s going to be very good for the United States, also for them,” Trump said in an interview in late January. Trump later added that the deal gets “everything we need to get.”
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