‘…become the 51st state’: Trump suggests Canada joins the United States in extreme tariff negotiation
As Donald Trump negotiated his extreme tariff plan with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he joked that Canada could avoid the tariffs by joining the U.S. and becoming the 51st state.
During his presidential campaign, Trump offered little hope for helping the economy. Instead, he proposed a shaky tariff plan that financial experts feared would add up to $15 trillion to the federal deficit. Since winning the election, Trump has doubled down on his tariff promises, which have steadily grown more extreme. Recently, he promised to slap an extreme 25% tariff on foreign goods coming from Canada and Mexico, along with a 10% tariff on Chinese imports. He has vowed to instigate these tariffs on his first day in office. On top of that, he has promised to declare a national emergency on day 1 and launch the biggest deportation of immigrants in history. His anti-immigration stance and tariffs go hand-in-hand as he blames Canada and Mexico for the migrants coming to America and wants to use tariffs as a punishment.
However, Trump seemingly doesn’t understand that his tariffs won’t just hurt other countries but also American citizens, as they will cause the price of anything not wholly U.S.-made to jump. Trudeau met with Trump over his concerns about the tariff plan, leading Trump to offer an outlandish solution to Canada.
Donald Trump jokes about making Canada a state
Recently, Trudeau joined Trump at Mar-a-Lago to negotiate tariffs. Prior to the meeting, the Canadian Prime Minister warned of the dangers of Trump’s plan, stating, “It is important to understand that Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. Our responsibility is to point out that he would not just be harming Canadians, who work so well with the United States, but he would actually be raising prices for American citizens as well and hurting American industry and business.”
According to a source at the meeting, Trump jokingly offered a solution to Trudeau. At one point, he allegedly suggested that he make Canada “become the 51st state.” The joke sparked “nervous laughter” from Trudeau and others present. Trump tried to keep the joke going by conceding that “Prime Minister” sounded better than “governor.” Aside from the joke, the meeting seemingly went well, with Trudeau expressing gratitude to Trump and writing on X, “I look forward to the work we can do together, again.”
The drastic change in Trudeau’s attitude toward Trump and the 51st state comment has raised eyebrows. One can’t help but question if the comment indeed was a “joke” or if it could be seen as a threat. To be clear, the idea of actually trying to invade or annex Canada is beyond absurd, even for Trump. Canadians would protest an annexation, and retribution would be swift in the case of an invasion. If Canada were, hypothetically, to become a U.S. state, it would likely backfire for Trump and the far-right, considering Canada is slightly more liberal and progressive than America. Even so, it’s understandable why the “joke,” coming from an unpredictable and increasingly impulsive future commander-in-chief, would make Canadians and Americans uneasy.
On X, Canadians have already begun to speak out to confirm they’d never stand for annexation or to warn people not to dismiss Trump’s dangerous rhetoric.
Trump’s tariff plans are extreme enough without him casually “joking” to countries that, perhaps, he’ll just make them the 51st state if they protest his plans.
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