United States President Donald Trump said annexing Canada with military action is “highly unlikely,” but for Greenland, he does not rule it out.
In a Sunday interview on NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, Trump spoke from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., discussing his first 100 days back in office. The conversation spanned from the American economy and ongoing trade disputes to his controversial statements about expanding U.S. territory.
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of turning Canada into the “51st state.” And despite the backlash, Trump is not backing away from the idea, although he now says a military path to annexation may not happen.
Trump told NBC it was “highly unlikely” that the U.S. would need to use force.
“I think we’re not ever going to get to that point, something could happen with Greenland … I don’t see it with Canada, I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you,” he said.
Trump left the door open to more assertive tactics involving Greenland, emphasizing the island’s strategic value.
“I’ll be honest, we need it for national and international security,” Trump said. “I don’t rule out anything; we need Greenland very badly. We need it for international security.”
During the interview, Trump also said there is considerable support for him to run for a third term.
“But this is not something I’m looking to do,” Trump said. “I’m looking to have four great years and turn it over to somebody, ideally a great Republican, a great Republican to carry it forward.”
Trump’s remarks come just days before a scheduled meeting with Canada’s newly elected Prime Minister, Mark Carney.
Trump said has spoken cordially with Carney, saying he had congratulated him on his win and noted, “he is a very nice man.”
In recent months, amid wrangling over tariffs, Trump has intensified calls for Canada to become a U.S. state.
On March 11, in a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear.”
Trump elaborated in the NBC interview: “I will always talk about that. You know why? We subsidize Canada to the tune of $200 billion a year. We don’t need anything that they have.”
“If Canada was a state, it would be great, it would be a cherished state. If you look at our map … when I look down, without that artificial line drawn with a ruler many years ago, it was just an artificial line … what a beautiful country it would be, it would be great.”
Carney has made it clear that Canada is not entertaining Trump’s proposal, calling the remarks “disrespectful.”
— with files from the Associated Press