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On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his long-standing desire to acquire Canada and Greenland, this time while seated next to NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
“I believe it will happen,” Trump stated when asked by a reporter about the possibility of the U.S. taking over Greenland. Turning to Rutte, he added, “I’m sitting next to a man who could play a key role in making this happen. Mark, we need this for international security.”
In response, Rutte refrained from engaging in the conversation about U.S. ambitions to acquire Greenland, stating, “I wouldn’t want to drag NATO into this.” However, he acknowledged the importance of Arctic security and emphasized the need for northern nations to work together “under U.S. leadership” to counter the influence of China and Russia.
When asked about tariffs on Canada, Trump shifted the conversation back to his idea of making Canada the 51st U.S. state.
“This would be the most beautiful country visually,” he said. “If you look at the map, there’s an artificial line that divides the U.S. and Canada. It was drawn decades ago and makes no sense.”
Rutte remained silent on the idea of threatening the border of a founding NATO member. Greenland, which is part of Denmark—another NATO ally—is an autonomous territory with its own government.
Trump’s comments came shortly after his nominee for U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, assured the Senate during his confirmation hearing that “Canada is a sovereign nation” and emphasized the importance of the strong bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Canadian federal officials were in Washington to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss trade and tariffs. The Canada-U.S. relationship was also on the agenda at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Quebec on the same day.
Canadian officials, including incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney, have repeatedly rejected the idea of Canada becoming part of the U.S. Trump’s remarks have sparked a surge of patriotism among Canadians, with polls showing nearly 70% of the population now views Americans more negatively due to the rising tariffs.
Despite the visit from Canadian officials, Trump remained firm on his stance and confirmed that the new “reciprocal” tariffs would take effect on April 2.
Other world leaders have avoided directly confronting Trump on his threats to Canadian sovereignty. Last month, during a press conference with Trump at the White House, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed a reporter’s attempt to create division, saying, “You’re trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist.”
When asked in British Parliament whether he would visit Canada to show support amid Trump’s threats, Starmer responded, “Canada is a valued ally, and I have spoken to our partners about the situation multiple times.”
In Greenland, where parliamentary elections were held on Tuesday, the likely new prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, firmly rejected Trump’s proposal, a stance shared by most voters.
“We have no desire to become Americans,” Nielsen told Britain’s Sky News on Wednesday.
Rutte’s visit to Washington came as Trump continued to pressure NATO allies to increase defense spending. Trump has called for NATO members to raise their defense budgets to five percent of GDP, a target that no member, including the U.S., currently meets. Canada, which has long fallen short of NATO’s two percent spending target, claims to have a “clear and credible plan” to reach the goal by 2032, though specific details have not been released.
Rutte expressed support for Trump’s push for increased defense spending, stating that NATO members need to produce more weapons to keep up with Russia and China.
