Monday, February 23, 2026

REDUX REVIEW OF STATECRAFT TOOLS: Trump's Greenland Hospital Ship

NOTE TO READERS: The Greenlandic government provides free healthcare to residents

President Donald Trump's Truth Social announcement included an illustration of the USNS Mercy, one of two hospital ships operated by the US Navy — President Donald Trump's Truth Social announcement included an illustration of the *USNS Mercy*, one of two hospital ships operated by the U..S Navy

Trump says he’s sending a hospital boat to Greenland. Nobody knows why

Trump did not say when the ship will arrive or how long it could stay

“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!!!”

---Trump wrote on Truth Social.

He did not say when the ship might arrive, or how long it would stay.
It’s also unclear what specifically prompted Trump’s decision.
The Greenlandic government provides free healthcare to residents.

The announcement also arrived hours after Denmark’s Joint Arctic Command evacuated a crew member from a U.S. submarine in Greenlandic waters, according to Reuters. The crew member required urgent medical attention, authorities said.

The U.S. Navy sailor had to be medically evacuated from a nuclear-powered submarine that broke from its mission and surfaced roughly eight miles from Nuuk, Greenland.