Trump says he is sending a hospital ship to Greenland
Source: Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was working with Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry to send a hospital boat to Greenland, a Danish territory that Trump has said he wants to acquire.
Trump announced the plan on social media moments before hosting a dinner for Republican governors at the White House, where he sat next to and chatted with Landry.
"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. Its on the way!!!" Trump said.
Neither the White House nor Landry's office responded to queries about the post, whether the ship had been requested by Denmark or Greenland and which sick people needed help. The Department of War had no immediate comment.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-says-he-is-sending-hospital-ship-greenland-2026-02-22/
Neither of the Navy's two hospital ships are stationed in Louisiana.
What insane plot does Trump think he's hatching?
AZLD4Candidate
(6,753 posts)Greenland wants nothing to do with you, Skeezix.
Skittles
(170,618 posts)but we will send help to Greenland?
SheltieLover
(79,210 posts)snowybirdie
(6,631 posts)Trumpstein files it now is
SheltieLover
(79,210 posts)So, credit where credit is due.
yellow dahlia
(5,405 posts)Deuxcents
(26,338 posts)highplainsdem
(61,215 posts)highplainsdem
(61,215 posts)planning to announce some kind of fake medical emergency and quarantine?
Tweet from a retired Navy intel officer:
Link to tweet
Wednesdays
(22,213 posts)He sweeps into Greenland and takes it in a weekend blitzkrieg?
I'm surmising there are no defending armed forces there, and any forces from Denmark or other countries would arrive far too late.
wnylib
(25,517 posts)and 4 other members of Congress that the military are obligated to refuse illegal orders.
LuvLoogie
(8,709 posts)He's going to start an epidemic there.
FakeNoose
(41,073 posts)Figarosmom
(11,160 posts)At the American base there.
Klarkashton
(5,072 posts)vapor2
(4,251 posts)SunSeeker
(58,098 posts)Trump has completely lost his mind.
Greenland has free Universal Healthcare, and inhabitants are flown to Denmark for free if the treatment needed is not available in Greenland. Nobody from Greenland would get on that ship.
highplainsdem
(61,215 posts)dflprincess
(29,281 posts)with sending a U.S. Navy ship anywhere?
A shrimp boat, maybe.
woodsprite
(12,575 posts)To Greenland back in December 2025.
woodsprite
(12,575 posts)MacKasey
(1,512 posts)choie
(6,840 posts)How about working to provide healthcare to those people in this country who are one illness away from destitution, you sociopath.
Justice matters.
(9,629 posts)10 years ago, that life long conman declared he was going to present his healthcare plan better than any other in the world, and especially better than "Obamacare' mmm... still waiting...
Is that great?
progressoid
(52,966 posts)Not to mention the rest of the insanity coming out of his ass.
joanbarnes
(2,112 posts)sheshe2
(96,924 posts)Demented Grandpa is loose again. (Yes, itâs real.) ð¥´
— Hoodlum ðºð¸ (@nothoodlum.bsky.social) 2026-02-22T02:08:42.177Z
SunSeeker
(58,098 posts)âBobby and I are sending the USS Measles to Greenland so they can have freedom freckles too.â â Senile Satan
— Hoodlum ðºð¸ (@nothoodlum.bsky.social) 2026-02-22T03:08:30.746Z
Sweet Rosie Red
(53 posts)The delusional idiot Comander in Chief doesnt even know the difference between a ship and a boat????!!!!
Talitha
(7,864 posts)GP6971
(37,850 posts)PSPS
(15,286 posts)I can hear it now. "See how many sick people are in Greenland? They need our help! Stat! Send in the troops!!1111!!!1!!"
Oh, and this is far more important than that epstein democrat hoax, so stop talking about that!111!111!!!
mahina
(20,583 posts)SheltieLover
(79,210 posts)pat_k
(12,904 posts)Who knows what goes on his demented mind? Maybe he heard somewhere that Greenland's health care system has problems and he thinks if he helps them address the problems Greenlanders will be so grateful they'll say "come take our country."
Unfortunately, even if you give the demented bastard him that much credit, I don't see how a hospital ship could possibly address the challenges they face. Their issues have more to do with limited access in areas outside the reach of a regional hospital. A hospital ship would just be another "regional hospital," so the access problem remains.
I asked AI "Does Greenland have inadequate health care infrastructure"? Take with whatever grain of salt you apply to all AI, but here is the answer:
Key Infrastructure Challenges:
Geographical Limits: With no roads between towns, patients in smaller settlements must often rely on costly and weather-dependent medical evacuations (air travel) to reach regional hospitals or the main hospital in Nuuk.
Staff Shortages: There is a chronic shortage of permanent doctors and nurses, leading to a high reliance on temporary staff, which can affect the continuity of care.
Resource Distribution: While 5 regional hospitals exist (Nuuk, Aasiaat, Ilulissat, Sisimiut, Qaqortoq), specialized services are concentrated, meaning specialized care is not available everywhere.
Infrastructure Gaps: Outside of major towns, there are major gaps in specialized services, including mental health, dental, and vision care
.
niyad
(131,240 posts)their healthcare system is set up. Free health care, 5 regional hospitals, clinics in the communities, and Denmark for serious issues, just as I figured.
pat_k
(12,904 posts)I'm no AI apologist, but the summary captures some of the challenges they face as a large county with a small population. Challenges that a hospital ship would do nothing to address.
Some tidbits from a Euractiv report:
https://www.euractiv.com/news/greenland-health-agreement-expands-danish-hospital-access-offers-inuit-women-compensation/
Currently, healthcare services vary widely across Greenland, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, facing unique challenges, particularly due to its vast, ice-covered territory.
...
Another challenge is the shortage of specialised health personnel. Of the 1,600 health workers, only 900 have permanent jobs. The rest are substitutes.
In 2024, the infant mortality in Greenland was much higher than in Denmark, 8,5 deaths per 1,000 live births, compared to 2,6 in Denmark. At the same time, a shortage of midwives has led to the closure of two out of five maternity wards, the report stated.
The rising costs for diabetes and obesity medicines, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, are also putting increasing pressure on healthcare budgets and patient access.
Patient transportation costs from small settlements to cities and from Greenland to Denmark are also increasing, costing between DKK 25,000 and DKK 500,000 per evacuation ( 3,250 to 65,000).
Greenlandic cancer patients also have almost twice the mortality risk compared to Danes, primarily due to late diagnosis and treatment, according to the Danish Ministry of Health and Interior. Minister Løhde now hopes to change this.
It is important that Greenlandic cancer patients receive the best possible treatment so that their chances of successfully overcoming their illness are increased. That is why we must create the best possible conditions for Greenlandic patients who come to Denmark to receive radiation therapy or other forms of specialised treatment at Danish hospitals, Løhde stated.
...
FadedMullet
(822 posts)......for some free help and maybe stop at the free community sauna on the way home.
C_U_L8R
(49,217 posts)raccoon
(32,320 posts)Irish_Dem
(80,627 posts)sinkingfeeling
(57,620 posts)lbe near last in getting healthcare. Also both ships are still in Mobile, Al.
https://gcaptain.com/trump-announces-greenland-hospital-ship-mission-as-mercy-and-comfort-sit-in-alabama-shipyard/
Vinca
(53,668 posts)Smackdown2019
(1,349 posts)Even though it is a hospital on the water, it is still a military ship. Location of which to be sent, as like the case you sending task forces to hot spots of the world are not to be letting their destinations to be known.
In crisis, yes the ship of hope is always welcomed, but announcing in a state of non-crisis, its still a military ship.
Abstractartist
(439 posts)Greenland should just let the ship anchor out in the harbor and sit there, not allowing anyone to come onto the island. That will last for about a week, and they will pull up anchor and leave.
🛳️👋🏻
LetMyPeopleVote
(177,914 posts)Greenland has a better healthcare system than the US
Greenland says 'no thanks' to Trump US hospital boat
— Unofficial BBCNews (World) Bot (@bbcnews-world-rss.bsky.social) 2026-02-22T17:30:34.610214Z
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7jnvdzpr7o
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he was going to send a boat filled with medical supplies, alleging "many people" on the island are sick and "not being taken care of".
Jens-Frederik Nielsen responded "it's going to be a no thanks from us," and said that Greenland provides free healthcare for all citizens.
Trump has long coveted the vast arctic island - but conceded in January that he would not take it by force, after previously refusing to rule out doing so.
LetMyPeopleVote
(177,914 posts)Too often, there is no meaningful connection between what the president says hes going to do and what he actually does.
Remember a few days ago, when Trump announced he was deploying a hospital ship to Greenland? And he added a bunch of exclamation points?
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-02-24T18:04:47.464Z
He isnât actually deploying the ship.
The larger arc: Thereâs no meaningful connection between what he says heâs going to do and what he actually does.
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-reportedly-isnt-sending-a-hospital-ship-to-greenland-after-all
Soon after, an apparent explanation for the confusion came into focus. The Wall Street Journal reported:
The Pentagon has received no orders to deploy any U.S. Navy vessels to Greenland, according to U.S. officials, despite President Trumps claim that a hospital ship is on its way to the self-governing Danish territory.
The U.S. has two hospital ships, the East Coast-based USNS Comfort and the West Coast-based USNS Mercy, which are designed as floating medical-treatment facilities. Both vessels are in a shipyard in Mobile, Ala., according to maritime tracking information. The Comfort is undergoing repairs that are expected to be completed in April, while the Mercy is in the middle of a one-year maintenance period that began last July.
......The incumbent president has earned his reputation as an unusually prolific liar, but this is a specific kind of mendacity. Trump isnt merely peddling nonsense about his perceived enemies or his record; this is a kind of dishonesty rooted in a disconnect from future events: The American president keeps telling the nation and the world about steps hes going to take, only to decide later not to bother with them, without offering any kind of explanation for the shift.
After his major defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court, for example, Trump said hed impose global tariffs at a 15% rate. That wasnt quite right, and when the policy was announced soon after, the actual rate was 10%.
The Republican said he was going to cap credit card interest rates, and then he didnt. He said he was going to impose steep economic penalties on any country that does business with Iran, and then he didnt. He even said he was going to decertify aircrafts made in Canada, and then he didnt.
For Americans who want to know whats likely to happen with their own government, its generally a good idea to pay more attention to what Trump and his team do than to what they say, because what he says has little bearing on reality.