Trump's most controversial comments since returning to office as he marks one year since inauguration
Donald Trump hasn’t exactly kept a low profile since returning to the White House last January.
In the 12 months following his second inauguration, the President has made plenty of remarks that have quickly landed him back at the centre of controversy.
From attacking political rivals and repeating unfounded claims, to making provocative comments about foreign leaders, wars and even renaming parts of the world, Trump has wasted little time as he works toward making 'America great again.'
While his staunch supporters continue to back him, critics argue Trump's words are reckless and often misleading.
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Either way, his comments have repeatedly dominated headlines - whether he was attacking tech billionaire Elon Musk, sparing Prince Harry deportation or dunking late night TV show hosts.
Here are some of Trump's most controversial comments since his January 20 return to the Oval Office.
Rob Reiner's death
Beloved movie director Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer and producer Michele, were found dead at their Los Angeles home on December 14.
Their son, Nick, has been charged with first-degree murder.
While tributes for the couple came flooding in, Trump took to Truth Social with a bizarre statement slammed as 'disgusting and shameful'.
In part, Trump's tribute described Reiner as 'a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star.'
He speculated on the reason for his murder: "...Reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS."
The President further claimed Reiner was known to have 'driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,' adding the director's 'obvious paranoia' had 'reached new heights' as his administration 'surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness'.
"May Rob and Michele rest in peace!" Trump signed off.
Musk and Trump fallout
Trump brought Elon Musk into his orbit as a senior figure on the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) advisory body last year, tasked with slashing federal spending. Their relationship imploded by mid-2025 after Musk attacked Trump’s One Big Beautiful spending bill and posted - then deleted - claims that Trump appeared in unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files, suggesting this was why they had not been made public, ABC reports.
Trump hit back, calling Musk 'crazy,' threatening to pull government contracts from his companies and accusing him of turning against the administration for personal reasons.
It appears the pair have put the feud aside, with Musk tweeting a photo of himself sat with the Trump and Melania on January 4.
"Had a lovely dinner last night with @POTUS and @FLOTUS," he said. "2026 is going to be amazing!"
Biden's cancer rant
After Joe Biden revealed he had been diagnosed with an aggressive, stage-four prostate cancer, Donald Trump initially responded with kind words, posting that he and Melania were 'saddened' and wishing Biden a 'fast and successful recovery'.
But the goodwill quickly evaporated. Days later, Trump used a Memorial Day post to lash out at Biden and his record in office, folding his former rival into a broad attack on what he called the 'scum' who had led the country for the past four years.
He then fuelled conspiracy theories suggesting, without evidence, that Biden had hidden the diagnosis while president and wrongly claiming it would have taken 'a long time' to reach such an advanced stage, the Guardian reports.
'Quiet, piggy!'
Bloomberg reporter Catherine Lucey was the target of a viral Trump tirade on November 14, onboard the President's Air Force One.
Trump was on the way to his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida for the weekend when Lucey, simply doing her job, asked Trump if there was anything 'incriminating' in the Epstein emails he had been mentioned in earlier that week.
Trump didn't take well to the question, responding by pointing in her face and snapping: "Quiet! Quiet, piggy!"
He continued: "You are the worst! You're with Bloomberg, right? You are the worst!", adding: "I don't know why they even have you."
Lucey never publicly commented on the jarring moment herself.
Canada becoming the '51st US state'
Trump repeatedly referred to Canada as a America's '51st state,' sometimes seemingly in jest but others while discussing escalating US-Canada trade tensions.
He even quipped about inviting Canada to 'become a state' to eliminate tariffs.
During a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney last year, Trump suggested Canada might be 'better off as part of the US' adding 'never say never' after Carney stressed Canada would not join Trump's country.
Greenland is next
Away from Canada, Trump has his sights firmly set on another territory; Greenland.
The president has repeatedly said he is 'very serious' about taking the world's largest island, which is owned by Denmark.
Why? Well, he claims the US 'needs' Greenland for national security reasons, claiming its strategic position in the Arctic is critical against deterring both Russia and China.
He suggested the US might pursue control - or acquisition - of the country 'whether they like it or not,' the 'easy' way or the 'hard' way. He has since has threatened to impose tariffs on key NATO and European allies that have opposed his bid.
Trump announced that eight countries’ imports into the US - Denmark, the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Finland - would be hit with a 10 percent tariff starting in February.
The rate could rise to 25 percent by June if a deal hasn’t been reached for the 'complete and total purchase of Greenland'.
Multiple European countries - including Denmark and the UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer - have condemned the move.
Nobel peace prize strop
Trump reacted angrily after the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, with the White House accusing the Nobel Committee of putting 'politics over peace'.
Trump, who has repeatedly said he deserves the prize and branded himself the 'peace president', had boasted about negotiating a successful Gaza ceasefire and ending multiple wars.
In a Truth Social post, he sulked: "I won't get a Nobel Peace Prize, no matter what I do."
While Trump publicly congratulated Machado, she went further - dedicating the prize to him and later giving him the award at the White House, prompting Trump to say that would be 'a great honour'.
Trump also reshared comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming the Nobel Prize had 'lost credibility'.
The Nobel Committee later issued a firm reminder that the prize 'cannot be revoked, shared or transferred,' closing the door on Trump’s ambitions.
US to 'run' Venezuela
Trump boldly claimed the US would 'run' Venezuela after the country successfully captured president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores in early January.
He said the take-over would last until a 'safe, proper and judicious transition' is put into place, as per the BBC.
Trump also vowed for US oil companies to fix Venezuela's 'broken infrastructure' and 'start making money for the country'.
The comments were, of course, widely criticized.
Venezuela’s vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, a key figure in Maduro’s inner circle, has since been sworn in by the Supreme Court and is now serving as the country’s interim president.
Gulf of America
After returning to office, Trump doubled down on the idea of renaming the Gulf of Mexico - and made it a reality.
In remarks following his inauguration, he said the US would begin calling the oceanic basin the Gulf of America.
He argued the name made sense because the US 'does most of the work there,' framing it as part of his broader pushback against Mexico, reported Newsweek.
The move was formalized when Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to use 'Gulf of America' in official government maps and documents, later going a step further by declaring an early-February 'Gulf of America Day.'
Gaza strip takeover
In February, Trump triggered global shock after openly proposing that the US 'take over' Gaza following the war.
Speaking at a White House press conference alongside Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he said the US would assume 'long-term ownership' of the territory, adding: “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site," he said, as per the BBC.
He also described Gaza as 'a phenomenal location on the sea' and said the aim would be to rebuild it into 'the Riviera of the Middle East.'
Trump suggested Gaza’s 2.2 million Palestinian residents should be removed during reconstruction, saying: “I don’t think people should be going back to Gaza,” and later adding that Palestinians would be relocated elsewhere, initially implying the move could be permanent before backtracking under pressure.
Russia-Ukraine blame game
Trump drew backlash in February 2025 when he suggested that Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were to blame for the war with Russia.
The US president said Ukraine 'should have never started it' and could have avoided the conflict by making a deal, as per the BBC.
Around the same time, Trump attacked Zelenskyy personally, calling him a 'dictator without elections' and arguing Ukraine’s leadership had mishandled the war .
He has since repeated the theme, claiming Ukraine - rather than Russia - was holding up peace talks and insisting Vladimir Putin was more willing to negotiate than Kyiv, reported the Independent.
'Terrible' Meghan Markle
Amid his promise to deliver 'mass deportations,' Trump clarified that he had no intention of booting Prince Harry out the country.
Harry, brother of Prince William and son of the late Princess Diana and now King Charles III, married American actress Meghan Markle in 2019.
They stepped back from their working royal roles in January 2020 before relocating to Los Angeles with their son, Archie, that March.
They welcome daughter Lilibet - named after Harry's mom, the late Queen Elizabeth II - the following year.
It has long been alleged that Harry may have hidden past drug use when applying for a US visa that would've usually seen him disqualified.
Asked if he had plans of deporting the former royal, Trump told the New York Post: “I don’t want to do that.
"I’ll leave him alone. He’s got enough problems with his wife. She’s terrible."
Jimmy Kimmel comments
Jimmy Kimmel came under fire in September after making controversial remarks about the late Charlie Kirk, including comments on how the president responded to his death.
He hit out at Trump for discussing White House renovations when asked about the September 10 assassination, and claimed the President grieved over his friend how 'a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.'
Ultimately Kimmel's comments got his show temporarily suspended, a decision which Trump applauded.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump slammed the TV show host: "Great News for America: The ratings challenged Jimmy Kimmel Show is CANCELLED,” he said.
“Congratulations to ABC for finally having the courage to do what had to be done. Kimmel has ZERO talent, and worse ratings than even Colbert, if that’s possible.”
He threw other late night show presenters under the bus too, continuing: "That leaves Jimmy and Seth, two total losers, on Fake News NBC.
"Their ratings are also horrible. Do it NBC!!!”
Jimmy Kimmel Live resumed on September 23.
'Knock the hell' out of Iran
Amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran, Trump claimed his administration would have to 'knock the hell out' of the country.
Back in June, the US joined Israel’s attack on Iran, bombing the country’s three main nuclear sites, while Iran hit back by firing missiles against a US airbase in Doha, in which there was damage but no casualties, reports Al Jazeera. A ceasefire was reached soon after.
In early December, Trump threatened to renew the war if Iran tries to rebuild its nuclear programme or missile arsenal.
“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down,” Trump said. “We’ll knock them down. We’ll knock the hell out of them.”
That threat was quickly followed by tougher action, with Trump encouraging Iranians to keep protesting, canceling talks and signalling that military force was still very much on the table.
His administration also moved to ramp up economic pressure, threatening sanctions and penalties on countries that continue doing business with Iran.
'S**thole' countries
At a rally last year, Trump openly owned calling describing certain nations as 's**thole countries.'
Trump admitted using the slur to describe Haiti and African nations in 2018, something he had previously denied, as Associated Press reported.
He then went even further by calling Somalia 'filthy, dirty, disgusting [and] ridden with crime.'
Trump brought the topic up while boasting about pausing migration from what he called 'hellhole' countries.
He went another step further last week by banning US visas for 75 countries - including Somalia, Haiti and Iran.
It means some countries that have qualified for the World Cup, held across the US, Canada and Mexico, will struggle to enter the country.
Melania's panties drawer
While giving a speech about the economy in North Carolina, Trump began rambling about his wife Melania's panties drawer.
He was complaining, yet again, about the the FBI raids on his Mar-A-Lago property in 2022.
It was part of the government's investigation into his handling of classified documents when he left the White House the previous year.
In December, Trump recalled how agents searched his wife's closet, as the Independent reported.
Explaining that the First Lady is a 'very meticulous person,' Trump added: "Everything is perfect. Her undergarments…sometimes referred to as panties, are folded, perfect.
"They’re so perfect, I say: ‘That’s beautiful.’
"I think she steams them,” he added, pretending to steam clothes himself.
Trump rambled on: "We came home... She opened the drawers and it was not that way. They were a mess.
“It was all over the place. And she said, 'Oh, what happened? That's so terrible.’"
'Perfect' health and aspirin dosage
Bruises on Trump's hands sparked concern for his health, but the president set the record straight a few weeks back by insisting he was in 'perfect' health.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the 79-year-old said he has taken 325mg of aspirin daily for 25 years - four times the low-dose amount often advised - even though it causes easy bruising.
“They’d rather have me take the smaller one,” he said, adding: “I’m a little superstitious.”
Trump also clarified that a scan he underwent at Walter Reed was a CT scan, not an MRI as he had previously claimed, and denied concerns about his hearing or claims that he has fallen asleep at public events. “Sometimes they’ll take a picture of me blinking,” he said.
He confirmed he does not exercise beyond golfing, saying treadmill workouts are 'not for me,' and revealed he declined to wear compression socks after being diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency.
His doctor said tests showed no abnormalities and apparently described Trump as being in 'exceptional health.'
'You want me to go swimming?'
Nine days into Trump's inauguration, a commercial airliner and military helicopter collided in mid-air above the Potomac River in Washington D.C.
All 64 people onboard the American Airlines flight, and the three helicopter crew, sadly died.
In one interview, the President drew backlash after responding to questions about whether he would visit the crash site.
"I have a plan to visit, not the site... Tell me, what's the site? You want me to go swimming?" he quipped.
Elsewhere, Trump essentially blamed Obama, Biden and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion program (DEI) for the incident.
"I changed the Obama standards from very mediocre at best to extraordinary, you remember that only the highest aptitude they have to be the highest intellect and psychologically superior people were allowed to qualify for air traffic controllers,” Trump said.
"Then when I left office and Biden took over, he changed them back to lower than ever before. I put safety first."
He continued: "The initiative is part of the FAA's (Federal Aviation Administration) 'diversity and inclusion hiring plan', which says diversity is 'integral to achieving the FAA's mission of ensuring safe and efficient travel'. I don't think so. I don't think so. I think it's just the opposite."
Topics: Donald Trump, Joe Biden, World News, US News, Politics
Ellie Kemp