U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to the White House Thursday.
Also joining the meeting were Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former Secretary-General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg, who now serves as the financial minister of Norway. Trump has repeatedly criticized NATO, of which Norway is a member state.
Norway has expressed support for Ukraine and has at times opposed the Trump administration’s stance on the conflict.
Nevertheless, the meeting with Støre appeared to go well, with Trump reiterating the strength of the U.S.-Norway relationship multiple times and expressing his enjoyment of the visit.
“We’ve had a great relationship, I think now maybe closer than ever. ... Just keep it the way it is, kid. You (Norway) can’t do better,” Trump told a reporter who asked him what he wanted from Norway.
Here’s some of the biggest themes from the press conference.
Is Trump still thinking about taking over Greenland?
Though Trump lacks support from Europe in his quest to make Greenland a U.S. territory, he established at the press conference that it is still a serious topic on his mind.
“Greenland’s going to be interesting, but that’s for another day,” he said. “I think we need (Greenland) for international peace, and if you don’t have that I think it’s a big threat to our world, so I think Greenland’s very important for international peace.”
At the beginning of Trump’s second term, the U.S. annexation of Greenland appeared largely unattainable to many analysts, not least because Greenlanders themselves don’t seem to want to join the United States.
However, a recent report from The New York Times detailed Trump’s efforts to use “persuasion over coercion” to convince Greenland to join the U.S.
The plan features public relations campaigns, including over social media, and will also emphasize the shared heritage of Greenlanders with Inuits, who are native to Alaska. Greenland has a native population that descends from ancient Alaskan immigrants.
Trump pressures the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates
At the press conference, Trump said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell should lower interest rates.
“We should lower interest rates, that’s the Fed, I hope they lower interest rates. That’s the smart thing to do,” Trump said.
Trump has repeated this demand over the past week, and insulted Powell in the process. He called the chair a “major loser” and called for him to be fired, saying it “cannot come fast enough.” On Tuesday, he reversed course and said he has “no intentions” of terminating Powell.
Status of the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Trump and Rubio both condemned Russia’s airstrikes on Kyiv on Thursday and signaled American desire for a swift end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict — while also criticizing leaders of both countries, especially Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I have no allegiance to anybody,” Trump told reporters. “I have allegiance to saving lives, and I want to save a lot of lives.”
He said the war “never should have happened” and that it wouldn’t have happened if he was president, again casting blame on former President Joe Biden’s military aid to Ukraine.
“I believe (Russia) will accept (the ceasefire deal), and I think we’re going to get this over with. Soon,” Trump promised.
Støre also expressed strong commitment to helping Ukraine.
“We have a common responsibility in securing democratic Ukraine for the future, and the best security guarantee they can have is the ability to defend themselves, and we are investing in that,” he said.
What are tariffs like on Norway?
Trump levied a 15% tariff on Norwegian imports earlier this year. A reporter asked Trump if he is considering changing the tariff rate based on the success of the conversation with Støre.
Trump implied that the tariff rate might actually rise.
“Well, they (Norway) have a great fund of 2 trillion dollars ... and they don’t have any debt, so I think they’d probably be willing to pay us more than that, I hope,” Trump told the media.
Norway is the third country Trump has invited to the White House since “Liberation Day,” when he announced reciprocal tariffs on American trading partners. He said he invited Norway “because I like them. ... I like your prime minister, and I like the way your government runs, and I respect the king.”
“He’s highly respected in Norway. It’s a great thing. He’s done a great job. Not an easy thing to do,” said Trump, just before Støre said he had invited Trump to visit the king of Norway, Harald V.