Joe Biden didn’t hold back when asked about Donald Trump’s recent push to “acquire” both Canada and Greenland. In a candid interview with the BBC, the former president shared his disbelief over Trump’s rhetoric, summing it up in six pointed words: “What the hell’s going on here?”
Trump’s second term has already featured over 140 executive orders, including bizarre ones like renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America” and suggesting that Canada avoid U.S. tariffs by becoming the 51st American state. He’s also doubled down on previous claims that he intends to bring Greenland under U.S. control—by force if necessary.
Biden, reflecting on these moves, emphasized that such talk goes against the core values of the United States. “We’re about freedom, democracy, opportunity—not about confiscation,” he said, criticizing Trump’s aggressive foreign policy stance. “What president ever talks like that?”
Trump’s proposals haven’t just raised eyebrows in the U.S. Leaders in Canada and Mexico have also spoken out. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, after meeting with Trump, made it crystal clear: “Canada is not for sale. Won’t be for sale, ever.” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum even joked that the U.S. should rename itself “Mexican America” in response to Trump’s behavior.
While Trump insists his moves are about restoring American greatness, Biden and other world leaders see them as dangerously out of step with diplomatic norms—and a threat to the country’s global credibility. Whether any of these annexation ideas are serious or just political theater, Biden’s message is clear: this isn’t how America should lead.
