On Saturday night, for reasons that were far from clear, Donald Trump used his social media platform to make an unexpected announcement. It read in its entirety:
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!!! President DJT
While odd presidential declarations have become the background noise of our civic lives, and Trump’s comments about Greenland have long been especially bizarre, this one left many observers here and abroad quite confused.
The suggestion that there are many sick people on the Arctic island who are going without health care is quite bonkers. In fact, just the opposite is true: Like many modern nations, Greenland has a system of universal coverage, provided to its residents for free.
The White House should probably be aware of what the local system has to offer: As The Washington Post reported, Denmark’s Arctic Command said early Saturday that it evacuated a crew member of a U.S. submarine in need of medical attention.
“The crew member required urgent medical treatment and has been transferred to the Greenlandic health authorities and the hospital in Nuuk,” the Arctic Command said a statement. “The evacuation took place within Greenlandic territorial waters, 7 nautical miles off Nuuk. It was carried out by the Danish Defence Seahawk helicopter. The helicopter was deployed from the inspection vessel Vædderen.”
(Why there was a submarine seven miles from Greenland’s capital city is unclear.)
The proper response from an American president would’ve been to thank Greenland for providing emergency care to a U.S. service member. Trump, however, chose a different, far less constructive course.
But wait, there’s more. The New York Times reported that the Navy has two hospital ships, both of which appear to be in dry-dock in Alabama — the president’s “on the way” boast was apparently not to be taken too literally. That coincided with Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen saying “no thanks” to the deployment that Trump promised.
“President Trump’s idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted. But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. It is a deliberate choice,” Nielsen said in a post on Facebook. The prime minister added that he’s prepared to engage diplomatically with the Trump administration, but he wants U.S. officials to “talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media.” Imagine that. As for Landry, I can understand why Trump referenced the Republican governor, who was recently tapped to serve as envoy between the White House and Greenland. Given the performance of Louisiana’s health care system, however, Landry isn’t exactly the first person I’d turn to when looking for officials who are equipped to “take care of … many people who are sick.” An NBC News report added, “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 [Defense Department also] had no immediate comment.” Watch this space.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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