President-elect Trump went after Canada early Wednesday morning, asking why the US subsidizes its northern neighbor and suggesting it should become the 51st state.
“Nobody can answer why we subsidize Canada to the tune of over $100,000,000 a year. No sense! ” Trump wrote on Social. “Many Canadians want Canada to be the 51st state.”
“They’ll save massively on taxes and military protection. I think that’s a great idea,” he added. “The 51st state!!!”
Last month, the president-elect said 25 percent tariff on products imported into the United States from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10 percent tariff placed on China. Trump said the move would pressure trading partners to better crack down on the movement of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States and strengthen border security.
After his threat of tariffs, he shared on Truth Social that he spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the phone. Trudeau later flew to meet Trump at Mar-a-Lago.
“I made it very clear that the United States will no longer sit idly by as our citizens become victims to the scourge of this drug epidemic, caused mainly by drug traffickers and Fentanyl pouring in from China,”Trump tweeted after the meeting. Trudeau. “Too much death and hardship!”
The two leaders had a positive opinion about the meeting.
Trump’s threat toward Canada has sent shockwaves through the Ottawa government; Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland resigned this week. In her resignation letter, she noted Trump’s threat of tariffs. The president-elect later called her behavior “absolutely toxic.”
He also jokingly refers to Trudeau as the “governor” of “the great state of Canada.”
