Why Greenland Needs A Hospital Ship
Adapted from a Wall Street Journal article.
Feb-24-2026
It started out with the bizarre Trump appointment of Jeff Landry, the Governor of Louisiana, as the US Special Envoy to Greenland.
In comes Jørgen Boassen, a 52-year-old Greenlandic bricklayer who last year helped organize Donald Trump Jr. visit to the island. He said he inspired Jeff Landry to propose the idea.
For some reason, Boassen ended up staying overnight at Landry’s mansion in Louisiana last week as part of a cultural exchange during Mardi Gras when the governor asked what the U.S. could do for Greenland.
Boassen said he told Landry that the healthcare system is deteriorating. Landry told the Journal that he then raised the issue with Trump during a dinner at the White House on Saturday. The president asked him whether Greenlanders really needed a ship, Landry said.
“I said, they absolutely need it. He said, ‘Well, let’s get it,’” Landry recalled.
Trump’s social-media post late on Saturday that a hospital ship was “on the way” to Greenland left Greenland and Denmark scratching their heads, and also most Americans who are not MAGA and never question anything Trump does.
This kind of gives us an idea how things are done by the Trump administration, and the sophisticated planning involved.
Landry disagreed. “That’s not what I’m hearing from Greenlanders. They think that universal healthcare sucks over there,” he said. Based on a single opinion. Provided by a brick layer, looking for publicity.
BTW, the U.S. Navy’s two hospital ships, are undergoing maintenance in Mobile, Ala.
Landry said that he is going to send a hospital ship, even if it takes until this summer for one to complete its maintenance and reach Greenland, and that he wasn’t going to consult Nuuk or Copenhagen on the matter.
“I’m just going to work with the military,” said Landry.
Feb-24-2026
It started out with the bizarre Trump appointment of Jeff Landry, the Governor of Louisiana, as the US Special Envoy to Greenland.
In comes Jørgen Boassen, a 52-year-old Greenlandic bricklayer who last year helped organize Donald Trump Jr. visit to the island. He said he inspired Jeff Landry to propose the idea.
For some reason, Boassen ended up staying overnight at Landry’s mansion in Louisiana last week as part of a cultural exchange during Mardi Gras when the governor asked what the U.S. could do for Greenland.
Boassen said he told Landry that the healthcare system is deteriorating. Landry told the Journal that he then raised the issue with Trump during a dinner at the White House on Saturday. The president asked him whether Greenlanders really needed a ship, Landry said.
“I said, they absolutely need it. He said, ‘Well, let’s get it,’” Landry recalled.
Trump’s social-media post late on Saturday that a hospital ship was “on the way” to Greenland left Greenland and Denmark scratching their heads, and also most Americans who are not MAGA and never question anything Trump does.
This kind of gives us an idea how things are done by the Trump administration, and the sophisticated planning involved.
Landry disagreed. “That’s not what I’m hearing from Greenlanders. They think that universal healthcare sucks over there,” he said. Based on a single opinion. Provided by a brick layer, looking for publicity.
BTW, the U.S. Navy’s two hospital ships, are undergoing maintenance in Mobile, Ala.
Landry said that he is going to send a hospital ship, even if it takes until this summer for one to complete its maintenance and reach Greenland, and that he wasn’t going to consult Nuuk or Copenhagen on the matter.
“I’m just going to work with the military,” said Landry.
