Trump envoy rebukes Greenland leader for rejecting hospital ship proposal

By Fox News · Fox News

Greenland's rejection of President Donald Trump sending a U.S. military hospital ship has touched off a private-public healthcare debate amid ongoing diplomatic talks about Arctic security. Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen on Sunday turned down Trump's offer , and now Trump special envoy to Greenland, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, has weighed in. "Shame on Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen!" Landry wrote in response to a Fox News report on Nielsen's objection. "President Donald J. Trump and America care. After speaking to many Greenlanders about the day to day problems they face, one issue stood out — healthcare." Greenland has sought more self-governance from Denmark under the Self Government Act in 2009 to take more local authority under home rule, but Danish officials' instant rejection of Trump's offer is aligned with Greenland's own rejection that came later Sunday. CANADA AND FRANCE OPENING NEW CONSULATES IN GREENLAND'S CAPITAL AMID TRUMP PRESSURE "President Trump's idea of sending an American hospital ship here to Greenland has been noted," Nielsen wrote in a translated Facebook post. "But we have a public healthcare system where treatment is free for citizens. "It is a deliberate choice." Greenland remains open to dialogue and cooperation with the U.S., with a caveat, according to Nielsen. "But talk to us instead of just making more or less random outbursts on social media," Nielsen said in his own public Facebook protestation. TRUMP KEEPS MACRON UNDER SPOTLIGHT AS GREENLAND TALKS GRIND FORWARD FROM DAVOS Greenland's "free for citizens" care is not sufficient, Landry argued in his Facebook response posted to his campaign's page. "Many villages and small towns lack basic services that Americans often take for granted," Landry's post continued. "Small settlements are without permanent doctors, diagnostic tools, or specialist care – forcing residents to travel great distances for vital treatments that should be available at home." The healt…