Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he planned to use “economic force” to force Canada into the Union, during a press conference in which he declared that “we don’t need anything they have.”
Trump, 78, spoke unabashedly about putting pressure on the nation’s top trading partner after posting numerous missives in recent weeks about Canada becoming the 51st state, after a Canadian politician talked about buying two states of US in response to Trump’s repeated comments.
Many of Trump’s previous comments and posts could have been read as ironic. But Trump was asked Tuesday about his plans for Canada after refusing to rule out military force to retake the Panama Canal and acquire Greenland, on a day when his son Donald Trump, Jr. was visiting the largest island. of the world, giving their words added meaning. .
When asked directly if he would apply military pressure to Canada, Trump dismissed it, but spoke of another type of “force.”
“No, economic strength,” Trump responded, “because Canada and the United States, that would really be something.” “If we get rid of that artificially drawn line and see what it looks like, it would be a lot better for national security, too,” Trump said.
His comments then addressed security (the United States provides a security umbrella with its nuclear and conventional forces) as well as trade and manufacturing, after making repeated comments about the American empire.
“There is not the slightest chance of Canada becoming part of the United States,” Trudeau published in X. “Workers and communities in our two countries benefit from being each other’s largest trade and security partners.”
Canada is the United States’ largest trading partner, and the United States has a trade deficit of about $6 billion. Trump correctly noted that many American auto companies make cars in Canada, although Trump said “we don’t need the cars.”
Losing trade with the United States could send Canada’s economy into a tailspin, which is why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rushed to Mar-a-Lago when Trump made comments after the November election about the imposition of large tariffs to the country.
‘Don’t forget, we basically protect Canada. But here’s the problem with Canada. There are so many friends up there. I love the Canadian people. They’re great, but we spend hundreds of billions a year protecting it. We are spending hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We lose on trade deficits. “We’re losing mass, we don’t need your cars,” Trump said.
‘You know, they make 20 percent of our cars. We don’t need that. I prefer to make them in Detroit. We don’t need the cars. We don’t need your wood. We have huge fields of timber. We don’t need their wood… We don’t need anything they have. We don’t need their dairy products, we have more than them. We don’t need anything. So why are we losing $200 billion a year and more to protect Canada? And I told it to, as I called him, Governor Trudeau (referring to the Canadian Prime Minister).’
Donald Trump said he would apply “economic force” to make Canada a US state.
‘I said: Listen, what would happen if we didn’t subsidize it? Since we give them a lot of money, we help them. For example, we are purchasing icebreakers and Canada wants to join us in purchasing icebreakers. I said, you know, we don’t really want to have a partner in purchasing icebreakers. We don’t need a partner.
“We have the right not to help them with their financial difficulties,” Trump continued.
‘Why do we support a country with $200 billion plus a year when our military is at their disposal, all these other things? They should be a State,’ he said.
Canada describes the relationship differently, calling it a security ‘association’ which, he says, makes both countries safer. “Our two countries share a deep and enduring defense and national security partnership, providing both countries with greater security than they could achieve individually,” according to a government fact sheet.
Trump spoke shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would step down as prime minister.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Wayne Gretzky speaks during the state funeral of the late former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.
Trump spoke shortly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he would step down as prime minister once his Liberal Party elects a new leader.
He then talked about hockey legend Wayne Gretzky as a leader.
“I have a lot of great friends,” he said. “One of them is the ‘Big One.’ I told him, ‘Run for Prime Minister, you’ll win… It’ll take you two seconds.’
“He said, ‘Well, am I going to run for prime minister or governor?’ “You tell me,” Trump continued.
“I said, ‘I don’t know, let’s make him Governor.’ I like that better.”
U.S. exports to Canada amounted to $428 billion in 2022 and imports to $481 billion, according to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.
“President-elect Trump’s comments show a complete lack of understanding of what makes Canada a strong country,” Canada’s newspaper published. minister of foreign affairs Melanie Joly. ‘Our economy is strong. Our people are strong. We will never back down from threats.”