Trump says he’s sending U.S. hospital ship to Greenland; local officials say, ‘No thanks’

President Trump said he plans to send a U.S. hospital ship to Greenland, a semi-autonomous Danish territory that he wants to acquire, so its medical staff can treat locals who he says are being ignored.

Mr. Trump said he is working on the matter with Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, whom he appointed special envoy to Greenland to advance U.S. interests in the Arctic.

“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,” Mr. Trump posted late Saturday on Truth Social.

Mr. Trump didn’t provide details on what prompted the decision to deploy one of the Navy’s two hospital ships to Greenland. Local officials said they don’t need any U.S. medical assistance.

“It’s going to be a ‘no thank you’ from here,” Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen posted on Facebook. “President Trump’s idea to send an American hospital ship here to Greenland is noted. But we have a public health system where treatment is free for citizens.”

The USNS Comfort and the USNS Mercy are two former oil tankers converted into hospital ships. Both are more than 40 years old. Civil service mariners operate them, with medical support provided by the military when the ships are deployed.

While Mr. Trump said an unidentified hospital ship is “on the way,” vessel tracking data indicates the Comfort and the Mercy are going through maintenance in Mobile, Alabama.

Mr. Trump’s announcement came as Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command said it evacuated a crew member from a U.S. Navy submarine who needed urgent medical care. The unidentified sailor was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital.

“The evacuation took place within Greenland territorial waters seven miles outside Nuuk,” Danish officials said in a statement.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said on Facebook that she is happy to live in a country where medical care is free and available to anyone who needs it.

“It’s not insurance and wealth that determine where you get proper treatment. You have the same approach in Greenland,” Ms. Frederiksen posted.

Mr. Nielsen said Greenland is open to dialogue and collaboration with other countries, including the United States.

“But talk to us now instead of just coming up with more or less random outbursts on social media,” he posted. “Dialogue and cooperation require respect that decisions about our country are made at home.”