Greenland does not need healthcare assistance from foreign countries, Denmark's Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said Sunday after US President Donald Trump announced the US was sending a "great hospital boat" to tend to the "many" sick people "not being taken care of" in the autonomous Danish territory that Trump covets.
Issued on: 22/02/2026 - 11:31Modified: 23/02/2026 - 16:44
Greenland does not need medical assistance from other countries, Denmark's defence minister said Sunday, after US President Donald Trump claimed he was sending a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory that he covets.
"The Greenlandic population receives the healthcare it needs. 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," Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR.
In Greenland, as in Denmark, access to healthcare is free.
Trump on Saturday posted on his social media platform Truth Social that "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!!!" he added.
Earlier on Saturday, Denmark's Arctic Command announced that it had evacuated a crew member of a US submarine off the coast of Nuuk after the sailor requested urgent medical attention.
The Danish Joint Arctic Command, on its Facebook page, said the crew member was evacuated on Saturday some 7 nautical miles (8 miles; 13 kilometres) 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.
It was unclear if Trump's post about a "hospital boat" had any connection to Denmark's evacuation of the US crew member.
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There are five regional hospitals across the vast Arctic island, with the Nuuk hospital serving patients from all over the territory. The Greenlandic local government signed an agreement with Copenhagen in early February to improve the treatment of Greenlandic patients in Danish hospitals.
Trump has said the US must control Greenland to ensure its security, though he has backed off earlier threats to seize it after striking a "framework" deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to ensure greater US influence.
Lund Poulsen told DR he was not aware of the hospital ship's possible arrival.
"Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly an expression of the new normal that has taken hold in international politics," he said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, Reuters and AP)
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