U.S. President Donald Trump said he would deploy a Navy hospital ship to Greenland, claiming residents there are ill and underserved—an assertion rejected by leaders in both Greenland and Denmark. The announcement added fresh tension to already strained relations over Trump’s repeated suggestions that Washington could take control of the Arctic territory.
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Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen dismissed the idea, saying the island’s universal health system provides free treatment to citizens. “It’s a no thank you from here,” he said, urging U.S. officials to engage through dialogue rather than social media.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he would deploy a hospital ship to Greenland, alleging that many people there are sick and not receiving care. Greenland’s Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded, “It’s a no thank you from here.” https://t.co/qvauFU8QaA
— PBS News (@NewsHour) February 22, 2026
Trump’s comments followed a Danish military operation that evacuated a sick crew member from a U.S. submarine near Nuuk to a local hospital. The Danish Joint Arctic Command said the rescue underscored existing cooperation in the region.
On his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that he was working with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to send “a great hospital boat” to Greenland to treat “many people who are sick.” However, Denmark’s defense minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Copenhagen had received no notice of such a deployment.
Questions also emerged about feasibility: the Navy’s two hospital ships, USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, are both currently in maintenance at a shipyard in Alabama, according to shipyard posts and photos.
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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended the Danish–Greenlandic model, stressing equal access to care regardless of wealth. Greenlandic lawmaker Aaja Chemnitz called Trump’s proposal “desperate” and unlikely to strengthen health services sustainably.
The episode highlights deepening friction between NATO allies as Washington continues to eye Greenland’s strategic location and mineral resources.