When he met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago late last week, Donald Trump reportedly threatened to make Canada the “51st state” if Trudeau continued to complain about trade tariffs Trump has threatened to impose as soon as he’s sworn on January 20 of next year.
The threat, according to Peter Doocy of Fox News, was made during a meal the two leaders shared.
“We are told that when Trudeau told President-elect Trump that new tariffs would kill the Canadian economy, Trump joked to him that if Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion a year, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state and Trudeau could become its governor,” Doocy reported.
While Trump’s comments were probably a joke, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that he would indeed annex parts of Canada if he could. He’d do it for their oil reserves if nothing else.
This isn’t the first Trump has insulted Trudeau.
In 2019, he commented, “Well, he’s two-faced. He’s a nice guy.”
“I find him to be a nice guy, but the truth is, I called him out on the fact that he’s not paying 2%, and I guess he’s not very happy about it.”
