Trump somehow managed to combine his three least popular policies: Taking Greenland, seizing Canada and tariffs

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump threatened a 10 percent tariff on goods from several European countries because they have voiced opposition to his plans for the US to acquire Greenland. He doubled down and threatened to raise it to 25 percent in weeks if they do not get in line.

And his threats come despite being one of his most unpopular policies with voters at home and abroad.

Trump’s comments are just the latest sign that the United States can no longer be considered a reliable partner for its European partners. The president told NBC News, “no comment” when asked if he would use military force.

While Trump continues to push his idea of the U.S. taking Greenland, voters remain opposed. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 55 percent were against trying to buy Greenland. That figure rose when people were asked about taking it by force. Now, Trump is trying to couple Greenland with another one of his favorite terms - tariffs - despite poor polling.

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Over the weekend, a handful of members of Congress and senators headed to Europe to reassure the Danish and Greenlandic prime ministers. Among them were Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Lisa Murkowski, both of whom have lambasted the idea of taking Greenland by force. Tillis, for his part, called the tariffs “bad for America, bad for American businesses, and bad for America's allies.”

Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump after January 6 but has tried to be more agreeable this time around, took an even sharper tone.

“We are already seeing the consequences of these measures in real time: our NATO allies are being forced to divert attention and resources to Greenland, a dynamic that plays directly into Putin’s hands by threatening the stability of the strongest coalition of democracies the world has ever seen,” he said in a statement.

“Congress must work together to reassert our Constitutional authority over tariffs so that they are not weaponized in ways that harm our alliances and undermine American leadership,” she added.

In the same token, NBC News reported that Trump is now fretting about Canada and its supposed vulnerabilities to Russia and China. It comes after a reprieve from Trump’s threats last year about turning Canada into the “51st state.”

But there is just one problem: all of these measures are incredibly unpopular. In fact, the president has figured out how to merge three of the least popular parts of his agenda to create a turducken policy that will alienate most of the American electorate eleven months before the 2026 midterm elections.

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A CBS News/YouGov poll released this weekend found that 60 percent of Americans thought that Trump focused too much on placing tariffs on goods from other countries. It also found that 76 percent of Americans did not feel that their income kept up with inflation.

Almost three-fourths of Americans, or 74 percent, thought that Trump is not focused enough on lowering prices. Threatening an additional tariff on European nations is likely to exacerbate these frustrations.

That’s not the only poll showing Trump in the red on tariffs and the economy. The Wall Street Journal’s poll released this weekend found that his approval on both the economy and tariffs are at a negative ten percent.

And this does not begin to talk about how unpopular taking Greenland is. A YouGov poll released last week showed that 28 percent of Americans would oppose purchasing Greenland, with only 21 percent of independents supporting it. That number is far lower for taking Greenland by military force.

There is also not much support for taking control of Canada. Only 22 percent of Americans support taking control of Canada and only 4 percent support using military force against Canada.

The CBS News/YouGov poll also found that 86 percent of Americans opposed using military force to take Greenland, with 70 percent of Republicans disapproving of the idea.

In addition, 69 percent of Americans thought that taking Greenland by military force would cause the United States to leave NATO, even though 54 percent thought it would give the country access to needed resources.

All of this explains why even Republicans are opposed to Trump’s new tariffs on Europe. Republicans know they are on a knife’s edge when it comes to keeping the House of Representatives. Democrats’ chances of taking back the Senate improved thanks to a slate of strong recruits in North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Republicans have been in this spot before: an unpopular war and a beleaguered economy nearly wiped out Republicans in 2006 and in 2008, which locked them out of the White House for eight years.

Trump’s continued saber-rattling around Greenland and his threat to add tariffs that just raise prices on American consumers could cost them their majorities.