On Saturday, January 31, U.S. President Donald Trump joked at an annual dinner for CEOs of large companies and prominent American figures held at the Alfalfa Club about incorporating Canada, Greenland, and Venezuela into the United States as states. He stated: “I never planned to make Greenland the 51st state. I want to make Canada the 51st state. Greenland will become the 52nd state. Venezuela may take 53rd place.”
Trump later described his remarks as “comedic” in an interview with reporters following the event.
Yulia Boguslavskaya, a senior lecturer at the Department of American Studies at St. Petersburg State University’s Faculty of International Relations with a PhD in Political Science, stated on January 29 that Trump’s desire to annex Greenland to the United States is designed for the long term and would be necessary for national security and mining.
