President Donald Trump stated Saturday that he’s sending a hospital boat to Greenland, the Danish territory he has sought to acquire, even as the Arctic island says it doesn’t need it.
“Working with the fantastic Governor of Louisiana, Jeff Landry, 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!!!” the president posted on social media alongside an illustration of the naval hospital ship the USNS Mercy.
It is unclear what Trump was referring to in his publish. Greenland and Denmark have free, nationalized well being care methods.
NCS has reached out to the White House and Landry’s workplace for extra particulars. The Pentagon referred questions to US Northern Command, which in flip referred questions to the US Navy. The Navy didn’t reply to a request for remark.
Landry, whom Trump tapped in December to serve as particular envoy to Greenland, stated on social media he’s “proud to work” along with Trump on “this important issue.”
Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen stated “no thank you” in a assertion responding to Trump’s announcement.
“President Trump’s idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens,” Nielsen stated. “That is a deliberate choice — and a fundamental part of our society. That is not how it works in the USA, where it costs money to see a doctor.”
He added that Greenland is “open to dialogue and cooperation. But please talk to us instead of just making more or less random statements on social media. Dialogue and cooperation require respect for the fact that decisions about our country are made here at home.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen defended the nation’s well being care system Sunday, writing on Facebook that she was “happy to live in a country where there is free and equal access to health for all. Where it’s not insurances and wealth that determine whether you get proper treatment,” in accordance to the Associated Press.
Trump’s publish got here after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command stated in a statement Saturday it had evacuated a crew member needing pressing medical remedy from a US submarine in Greenlandic waters. The crew member was transferred to the Greenlandic well being authorities and a hospital in Nuuk.
The US Navy has two mobile hospital ships, the USNS Mercy and the USNS Comfort, that assist troops throughout deployments and supply providers for US catastrophe aid and humanitarian operations. During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Navy deployed the USNS Comfort to New York City, the epicenter of the virus outbreak within the United States.
The Mercy is moored in Mobile, Alabama, in accordance to the ship monitoring web site Marinetraffic.com. It’s not clear the place the Comfort is situated, although the web site indicated it was additionally in Mobile earlier this month.
Neither ship seems prepared to instantly deploy.
Strategically situated Greenland is the world’s least densely populated nation and, due to the restricted community of roads, its 56,000 residents journey by boat, helicopter and aircraft between the island’s cities. The US has one navy base in Greenland, the Pituffik Space Base, which is on the western coast of the island.
Trump’s publish comes a month after his escalated efforts to get hold of Greenland shook European allies as he asserted the US would accept nothing lower than whole management of the nation.
In late January, Trump introduced “the framework of a future deal” on Greenland with the NATO chief, however his continued curiosity within the Arctic island raises questions on Greenland’s sovereignty.
The thought of US management has rattled Greenlanders, together with municipal engineer Ludvig Petersen.
He beforehand told NCS that his fundamental aversion to American management stems from the problem of personal well being care.
“I don’t like the idea of becoming part of America,” he stated. “My primary concern is all this privatization of health care and education. It’s not something we are used to.”
This story and headline have been up to date with further developments.
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