New York: Days after President-elect Donald Trump dubbed his meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at his private Mar-a-Lago estate as ‘very productive,’ reports have surfaced that Trump had jokingly suggested the latter that Canada should become the 51st US state if it can’t handle his tariff plan. Trump had been threatening to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products, specifically due to the neighboring country’s (and Mexico’s) failure to curb illegal immigration and supply of illicit drugs into the US.
Donald Trump reportedly joked about Canada becoming a part of the US, with Justin Trudeau as its Governor, sources had revealed Fox News.
According to reports, the duo had met over dinner in Palm Beach, Florida for about three hours last week. Reports also claimed that Trudeau made his country’s case during the meeting and urged Trump not to go through with the aggressive implementation of the tariff as it would “kill” Canada’s economy.
“So your country can’t survive unless it’s ripping off the US to the tune of $100 billion?” Trump responded, as reported by FOX News. He then went on to suggest that Canada should become a part of the US.
The Canadian PM and others present at the meeting were consequently compelled to “nervously” laugh at the remarks, reports quoting sources stated. Someone even envisioned Canada as a potentially “very liberal state” of the US, the Hindustan Times reported. This notion prompted the president-elect to hit Trudeau with another suggestion that the hypothetical state would have to be split into two halves– a liberal and conservative one.
At the dinner, Trump reportedly reiterated his ideas regarding how Canada’s relations with the US should look, especially at a time when he is sworn into office in January.
