Trump Revives Canada, Greenland Statehood Proposals

President Donald Trump again proposed making Canada or Greenland the 51st U.S. state at rallies in Arizona on Wednesday, pairing questions of national sovereignty with his defense of tariffs. He called Canadian trade policies toward the United States “brutal.” “They are brutal, and we don't take that crap anymore,” he said. Then he added, “They'll end up being the 51st state, because it's the only way it works,” followed by, “Just like Greenland.”

Trump also said he’d never actually intended to invade Greenland, though he had publicly reserved that option. His remarks repeated proposals that polls have found unpopular among Americans: a February poll found 72% disapproved of his handling of Greenland, while polls last year found 75% or 80% opposed making Canada a U.S. state, depending on the poll.

Statehood proposals meet public opposition

Polls also showed opposition to the trade policy Trump promoted alongside his comments on Canada. When he launched recent tariffs on Canada, Americans opposed them 57%-20%, a margin close to 3 to 1. Recent polling from Fox News, AP-NORC and CNN found about 7 in 10 Americans or registered voters disapproved of Trump on tariffs. Each poll showed his worst numbers on the issue to date.

The campaign had less than three weeks remaining. The article contrasted tariffs with subjects such as the Iran war, describing tariffs as an elective policy to pursue and promote. Voters had expressed opposition to both the Canada proposal and the tariff argument, placing them in the campaign’s political context.

Economic claims and inflation data

At rallies in Arizona and Montana on Wednesday, Trump argued tariffs don't cause inflation and claimed the United States was getting richer because of tariffs and high oil prices. In Bullhead City, Arizona, he said, “Our country is making more money than it's ever made because of the fact that oil is so high.” He also said, “I care more about the little person than I care about the big person,” adding that in oil-producing states, “we're making a fortune.”

For more than a year, Trump had argued there was no inflation and that the economy was in a “golden age.” A Pew Research Center poll last month found 42% of Americans rated the economy “poor,” while 8 in 10 rated it “fair” or “poor.” Both figures were new highs for Trump's second term. Two straight days of unfavorable inflation indicators emerged that week, including data released Thursday showing U.S. wholesale inflation in September had reached its highest level in more than four years.

Other proposals draw voter opposition

Republicans running in the 2026 midterm elections were seeking distance from Trump, whom the article described as historically unpopular heading into the midterms. The administration appeared to have backed away from two other proposals: spending millions of dollars in taxpayer funds on ads promoting Trump and livestreaming the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan. Trump indicated he’d use campaign money for the ads and said Thursday the livestream wouldn't happen.

A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Thursday found registered voters opposed livestreaming Hasan's execution, 80%-19%. A Reuters-Ipsos poll the previous week found voters considered taxpayer-funded political ads inappropriate, 89%-9%. A Washington Post poll found registered voters opposed pardoning violent January 6 defendants, 83%-16%.

Many Republicans had cautioned against livestreaming Hasan's execution, calling it a gruesome idea that could give Islamic extremists a propaganda victory by making Hasan a public martyr. The article said doubts apparently weren't raised with Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, or were dismissed. The reported polling captures opposition to the statehood proposals, tariffs and other campaign ideas; it doesn't report any change in Canada's or Greenland's political status.