Bricklayer's casual chat sparked Trump's bogus promise to send Greenland hospital ship
President Donald Trump's bogus promise to send Navy hospital ships to Greenland didn't originate in the Pentagon or State Department —it came from a casual chat with a bricklayer, according to a report.
Jørgen Boassen, a 52-year-old Greenlandic construction worker and Trump supporter, spilled the tea to the Wall Street Journal, revealing he was the unlikely catalyst behind the president's weekend declaration.
"Jørgen Boassen, a 52-year-old Greenlandic bricklayer who last year helped organize Donald Trump Jr.’s visit to the island, says he was the one who inspired Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana and Trump’s appointed Greenland envoy, to propose the idea," the Journal wrote.
During a Mardi Gras cultural exchange trip in Louisiana, Boassen griped to Landry about Greenland's "deteriorating" healthcare system, citing his mother's tragic death from sepsis after a misdiagnosis at a rural clinic.
“I told him our healthcare system is deteriorating, and that people are sick. Some people are diagnosed too late,” Boassen told the Journal.
He said he didn’t ask for a U.S. hospital ship, "but any help is appreciated."
Landry brought up Boassen's concerns at a White House dinner, telling Trump that Greenlanders "absolutely need" medical assistance.
“I said, they absolutely need it. He said, ‘Well, let’s get it,’” Landry said.
Within hours, Trump publicly trumpeted his plan on Truth Social, claiming ships were "on the way" to help residents "who are sick, and not being taken care of there."
Greenland's leaders weren't amused, with Health Minister Anna Wangenheim branding it psychological warfare.
Notably, despite Trump's urgent tweets, no hospital ships were actually ordered to deploy. Both Navy vessels remain stateside undergoing maintenance, according to the report.