President Donald Trump joked about the possibility of Venezuela, Canada, and Greenland joining the US, reports The Washington Post.

"I never planned to make Greenland the 51st [US] state. I want Canada to be the 51st state. Greenland will be the 52nd state. And Venezuela could be the 53rd," the US president said at a reception in Washington on January 30.

The head of the US administration humorously suggested that he might have to take a break from his speech to personally oversee the US invasion of Greenland. He then added: "We're [i.e. the US] not going to invade Greenland. We're going to buy it."

But later, he told reporters that most of what he said was a joke.