Trump sends ‘great’ hospital boat to treat ‘sick’ people in Greenland
The move comes amid simmering US-Denmark tensions over the mineral-rich Arctic territory
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he was sending a hospital boat to Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory that he has long coveted and threatened to seize by force.
Trump’s rhetoric has ratcheted up tensions between the United States and Denmark, while putting the global spotlight on the Arctic as he insists mineral-rich Greenland is vital for US and Nato security against Russia and China.
He said the boat would treat many “sick” people in Greenland, without providing any details on who he was referring to or the number of people the vessel would help.
“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,” Trump said in a social media post.
“It’s on the way!!!,” he added.
The post on his social media platform carried an apparent AI image that depicted the USNS Mercy – a 272-metre (894-foot) vessel that is typically stationed in southern California – sailing towards snowcapped mountains on the horizon.