Fox New: Trump Suggests Canada Become 51st State
27- 3.12.2024, 12:56
- 9,666
PM Trudeau was offered a governor position.
President-elect Trump suggested to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week that if a tariff for failing to address trade and immigration issues would “kill” the neighbor to the north’s economy, maybe it should “become the 51st state”, Fox News reports with a reference to its own sources.
According to them, on November 29, Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago unannounced after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Specifically, Trump is threatening to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico over their failures to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from those countries into the U.S.
According to two people at the table who heard the discussion, Trump, while cordial and welcoming, was very direct when it came to what he wants from his counterpart to the North.
Trump told Trudeau that Canada has failed the U.S. border by allowing large amounts of drugs and people across the border, including illegal immigrants from over 70 different countries, sources report.
Sources say Trump became more animated when it came to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which he estimated to be more than $100 billion.
The president-elect told the prime minister if Canada cannot fix the border issues and trade deficit, he will levy a 25% tariff on all Canadian goods on day one when he returns to office in January 2025, Fox News reports.
Trudeau told Trump he cannot levy the tariff because it would “kill the Canadian economy completely”. Trump replied – asking, so your country can't survive unless it's ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion?
Trump then suggested to Trudeau that Canada become the 51st state, which caused the prime minister and others to laugh nervously, sources told Fox News.
But he continued, telling Trudeau that prime minister is a better title, though “he could still be governor of the 51st state”. He told Trudeau that if he cannot handle his list of demands without ripping the U.S. off in trade, maybe Canada should really become a state or two and Trudeau could become a governor.
While sources say the exchange got many laughs, Trump delivered the message that he expected change by January 20, 2025 — the day of his inauguration.