Trump sends hospital ship to Greenland; Danish leaders extoll healthcare for all

President Donald Trump’s plans to seize Greenland have been quiet for several weeks, but a Joint Arctic Command medical evacuation from Denmark on Saturday led the United States to send a “large hospital ship” to treat the “sick.”

“Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, we will send a large hospital ship to Greenland to take care of the many sick people who are not being treated there,” Trump wrote Saturday evening on Truth Social. “It’s on its way!!!”

Governor Landry was named special envoy to Greenland in December and held formal discussions on the road map for Trump’s plans to strengthen Arctic security against threats from Russia or China.

Then, in late January, Landry spoke with NATO leaders and expressed support for a “framework for a future agreement” aimed at expanding U.S. influence in the region.

Trump warns we can no longer think ‘purely about peace’ as he pushes for control of Greenland.

President Donald Trump has long warned that the United States is the only country capable of controlling and protecting Greenland from possible Russian and Chinese strategic military designs in the Arctic region. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Landry, who was in Washington, D.C., for the national governors’ meeting late last week, thanked Trump for his support for Greenland.

“Proud to work with you on this important issue! Landry responded on X to Trump’s Truth Social message.

President Donald Trump has named Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry his special envoy to Greenland, amid plans to purchase or take over the strategic Arctic island nation. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The news comes as Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command evacuated a crew member who needed urgent medical treatment from a US submarine in Greenlandic waters, seven nautical miles from Greenland’s capital, Nuuk.

SENIOR NATO OFFICIAL REVEALS DETAILS OF STUNNING MEETING WITH TRUMP THAT PRODUCED THE “FRAMEWORK” FOR GREENLAND DEAL

The crew member was transferred to Greenlandic health authorities via a Danish defense Seahawk helicopter to a hospital in Nuuk, according to Joint Arctic Command.

Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen did not directly reject Trump’s overture, but he told Danish broadcaster DR on Sunday that Greenland was ready.

“The people of Greenland are receiving the health care they need,” Poulsen said. “They receive it either in Greenland or, if they need specialized treatment, in Denmark.

TRUMP KEEPING MACRON IN THE SPOTLIGHT AS GREENLAND TALKS MOVE FORWARD FROM DAVOS

“So it’s not like there’s a need for a special healthcare initiative in Greenland.”

Denmark’s King Frederik made a second visit to Greenland last week, aiming to demonstrate unity with the territory in the face of Trump’s efforts to buy the island.

Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did not reject President Donald Trump’s sending a U.S. military medical ship to Greenland, but she touted socialist ideology on health care for all while attacking the United States, Republicans and Trump. (Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen did not directly address Trump’s post on her own Facebook account hours later, but she touted socialist ideology on health care “for all.”

NORAD AIRCRAFT TO ARRIVE IN GREENLAND FOR ROUTINE EXERCISES

“I am happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health care for all,” Frederiksen wrote in a translated message, sharing a Democratic point of attack on Trump’s Republican Party’s struggles to reform what Trump called Obamacare’s “failure.” “Where it’s not insurance and wealth that determines whether you get proper treatment. You have the same approach in Greenland.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The US Navy has two hospital ships, the Mercy and the Comfort. Both were last docked in Alabama for repairs, according to Reuters.

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.