U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he again told some unnamed Canadian official that the country should consider joining the U.S. as the 51st state — returning to the annexationist rhetoric he used earlier in the year and subsequently dropped after Prime Minister Mark Carney was elected.
Speaking to senior military officials at an event in Virginia, Trump said the U.S. is developing the Golden Dome missile defence system and Canada could be covered by it if the country becomes part of the States.
“Canada called me a couple of weeks ago. They want to be part of it. To which I said, well, why don’t you just join our country? Become 51, become the 51st state and you get it for free,” Trump said.
Trump said he doesn’t know if his pitch “made a big impact,” but he said, to him, joining the two countries together “makes a lot of sense.”
He said Canada is “having a hard time” after being hit by tariffs, claiming his trade policy is shifting trillions of dollars worth of investments to the U.S.
Trump has previously floated Canada joining his proposed defence system, saying the country will need to kick in some $71 billion US if it wants to be under the U.S. security umbrella, which is designed to protect against missiles, drones and other aerial threats.
Trump returns to ’51st state’ comment at address to U.S. military leaders
A spokesperson for Carney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At their first face-to-face meeting in May, Carney diplomatically shot down Trump’s 51st state talk, saying that as a property developer he should know “there are some places that are never for sale.”
“Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale and it won’t be for sale ever,” Carney said.
Trump said “never say never,” about uniting the two countries but acknowledged it “takes two to tango” to make a takeover like that work.
In response, Carney said: “Never, never, never, never, never.”
Carney later told reporters he asked Trump to stop with the 51st state taunts during a private luncheon at the White House.
