At the Munich Security Conference in mid-February, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a warning. Even if the annexation of Greenland no longer seemed to be a top priority for the White House, “I think the desire from the US president is exactly the same,” she said. For Danes and Greenlanders, the message from US President Donald Trump, posted on the social media platform Truth Social during the night of February 21 to 22, confirmed that view. In his message, the American president announced the deployment of a “great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick and not being taken care of there.”

This unsolicited move, seen as a provocation by both Nuuk and Copenhagen, prompted immediate reactions. “The answer is: no thank you,” said Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen, emphasizing that the Danish autonomous territory benefits from “a public health system where care is free for citizens,” which “is not the case in the United States, where seeing a doctor costs money.” Mette Frederiksen also wrote that she was “happy to live in a country where access to health care is free and equal for all,” adding that “it is not insurance or wealth that determines whether someone receives adequate treatment.”

You have 75.79% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.