US President Donald Trump on Tuesday shared an old photo on his social media platform ‘Truth Social’ in which he is seen with other European leaders with the American flag and Canada, Greenland and Venezuela depicted as part of the United States.
In this post, Trump can be seen sitting inside the Oval Office, along with NATO leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Georgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and others.
In another post, Trump can be seen raising the US flag in Greenland along with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio above a landmark that reads, “Greenland US Territory, Established 2026”.
Shortly after the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump said the United States would grant asylum to the South American country “until we can make a safe, just and prudent transition”.
Later, White House Press Secretary Carolyn Leavitt reiterated this stance on January 8, saying, “The Trump Administration is in close contact with Venezuelan interim officials. Obviously, we have maximum influence on Venezuelan interim officials at this time…their decisions will continue to be guided by the United States.”
Last year, Trump suggested that Canada become America’s 51st state. In May, shortly after winning the election, Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected Trump’s suggestion in his first press conference, saying, “It is important to distinguish between desires and reality.”
Carney stressed that his election victory and the votes he received reflected Canadians’ clear desire for independence. He made clear that Canada would never become part of the US, and cited public discourse and his landslide election victory as proof of this.
Trump has repeatedly said that Canada should be the 51st state of the United States and has also mocked former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, calling him “the Governor of Canada.”
On Tuesday, the US President spoke by telephone with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte about Greenland and said he would meet with a range of parties in Davos. He reiterated his stance on Greenland, calling it integral to American and world security.
The post comes as the US is set to deploy a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) aircraft to Greenland’s Pitufik space base as tensions rise over President Donald Trump’s move to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish territory.
NORAD said the aircraft would arrive at the base to support various pre-planned activities. He also said that this action is being taken in coordination with Denmark and Greenland.
Earlier, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on other European countries, including Denmark and Britain, unless they agreed to sell Greenland.
In his post, Trump claimed that the move was necessary for national security, and cited the interests of China and Russia in the region.
He proposed negotiations with European countries, but warned that if no deal was reached, tariffs would be increased to 10 percent from February 1, 2026, and 25 percent from June 1, 2026. He said that after years of receiving support from the United States, it was time for Denmark to give something back.
