Greenland does not need medical aid from other countries, Denmark said after Donald Trump said he was sending a hospital ship to the autonomous Danish territory, which he wants to gain.
“The Greenlandic population receives the health care they need. They receive it in Greenland, or if they need special treatment, they receive it in Denmark. So it’s not like there is a need for a special health care initiative in Greenland,” National Defense Minister Trolls Lund Poulsen told Danish broadcaster DR on Sunday.
In Greenland, as in Denmark, access to health care is free. With five regional hospitals across the vast Arctic island, Nauk Hospital serves patients from all over.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended Denmark’s health care system, writing on Facebook that “it’s nice to live in a country where everyone has free and equal health. It’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get the right treatment.”
“You have the same policy in Greenland,” she said: “Happy Sunday to you all,” before a blushing, smiling emoji.
The Greenlandic local government signed an agreement with Copenhagen in early February to improve the treatment of Greenlandic patients in Danish hospitals.
Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on Saturday that he was “going to send a great hospital ship to Greenland to take care of a lot of people who are sick and not taken care of there.”
“It’s on the way!!!” he added.
Trump said the U.S. should control Greenland to ensure its security, although he backed down on earlier threats to annex it after striking a “framework” deal with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to increase U.S. influence.
Lund Poulsen told DR that he was unaware of the hospital ship’s arrival. “Trump is constantly tweeting about Greenland. So this is undoubtedly the new normal expression that has taken hold in international politics,” he said.
Earlier on Saturday, Denmark’s Arctic Command announced that the crew of the US submarine Nuke had been evacuated off the coast after the sailor requested emergency medical attention.
