Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has firmly rebuffed a proposal by US President Donald Trump to send an American hospital ship to the Arctic territory, declaring that Greenland neither needs nor requested such assistance and urging Washington to engage through proper diplomatic channels rather than public pronouncements.
The episode unfolded after Trump announced on social media that he was working with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, described as a special envoy to Greenland, on plans to dispatch a US hospital vessel to the island. The suggestion came against the backdrop of Trump’s repeated statements that he would like the United States to assume control of Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, a notion that has strained relations within the NATO alliance and drawn firm resistance from both Nuuk and Copenhagen.
Responding in a pointed Facebook post on Sunday, Nielsen said Greenland had “noted” the proposal but made clear that it was unnecessary. He stressed that the territory maintains a universal public healthcare system in which treatment is free to residents and that this model reflects a deliberate societal choice.
While reaffirming that Greenland remains open to dialogue and cooperation, including with the United States, he criticised what he characterised as impulsive communication from Washington, urging that Greenland be approached through respectful engagement rather than “more or less random outbursts on social media”.
The diplomatic friction comes as Greenland, Denmark and the United States have recently begun talks aimed at easing months of tension over Trump’s sovereignty rhetoric regarding the strategically significant Arctic island.
The hospital ship suggestion surfaced only hours after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command confirmed that it had conducted a medical evacuation of a crew member from a US submarine operating in Greenlandic waters roughly seven nautical miles from Nuuk, the capital. Authorities did not indicate any direct link between that evacuation and Trump’s proposal, though the timing fuelled speculation about Washington’s intentions.
For Greenland’s leadership, however, the message was unequivocal: while cooperation with allies is welcome, gestures perceived as unilateral or politically motivated risk deepening mistrust at a moment when Arctic security, sovereignty and partnership are under heightened scrutiny.