An American Airlines arrivals board displaying American Airlines flight 2669, which was scheduled to be flown by a Boeing 737 Max 8, arriving from Miami to New York City at LaGuardia Airport, is seen as cancelled, in New York, U.S., March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he hoped Boeing Co can figure out whatever problem might exist with its 737 MAX jetliners and that a U.S. decision to ground them would only have to be in place for a short time.

Trump made the comments to reporters at the White House as he sat down to meet Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

The United States grounded Boeing’s money-spinning 737 MAX aircraft on Wednesday over safety fears after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crash that killed 157 people, leaving the world’s largest planemaker facing its worst crisis in years.