The Department of War said Monday it has received no orders to deploy any Navy vessels to Greenland, U.S. officials told The Wall Street Journal, countering President Donald Trump's announcement that a hospital ship was on its way to the self-governed Danish territory.
Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social: "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 Navy has two hospital ships, the East Coast-based USNS Comfort and the West Coast-based USNS Mercy, which are designed as floating medical treatment sites, according to the Journal. Both vessels are in a shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, according to maritime tracking information.
The Comfort's repairs are expected to be completed in April, and the Mercy is in the middle of a one-year maintenance period that began in July, the Journal reported.
Spokespersons for the Navy and Pentagon referred questions from the Journal to the White House. White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly referred to Trump's social media post.
Should the Pentagon send one of the ships to Greenland, a formal request for their assistance by Danish authorities is required before they could dock on the island, one of the U.S. officials told the Journal.
Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, on Sunday asked Trump to talk to him instead of making "random outbursts on social media."
Nielsen said, "It's going to be a no thanks from us," adding that Greenland provides free healthcare for its citizens, unlike the U.S.
Landry, Trump's special envoy to Greenland, slammed Nielsen's comments, saying he had spoken to many Greenlanders about their healthcare problems, the Journal reported. He said many villages and small towns lack basic medical services, forcing citizens to travel long distances for treatment.
"A healthy Greenland is vital for America's national security," he said. "America is committed to defending Greenland, and that begins by ensuring its people are defended against basic illnesses and ailments."
Trump's post about the hospital ship came hours after Denmark's military said that it evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine who needed urgent medical treatment off the coast of Greenland. The Danish Joint Arctic Command posted on Facebook that the crew member had been evacuated and transferred to a hospital in Nuuk, Greenland's capital.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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