In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press”, President Donald Trump said he still wants to make Canada the 51st U.S. state and does not envision the United States using military force to seize the neighboring country.
During the interview, which aired on May 4, Trump said he’s still interested in annexing Canada but does not label it in the same category as Greenland, a Danish territory Trump has repeatedly suggested the U.S. could one day be compelled to acquire.
Asked if he would rule out military force to take Canada, Trump told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker: “Well, I think we’re not going to ever get to that point. It could happen, something could happen with Greenland. I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security.”
“But I think it’s highly unlikely,” Trump added, as Welker chimed in to buttonhole him on Canada. “I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you,” he said with a laugh.
Trade tensions with Canada
The relationship between Canada and the United States has been tense since Trump threatened the country with blistering tariffs. At a late November dinner in Florida with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he upped the ante by suggesting that Canada give up its sovereignty and become part of the United States. Trump proceeded to needle Trudeau, calling him “Governor” of the “Great State of Canada” on social media.
Trudeau, under pressure from his party to resign amid falling polling, said in early January that he would leave his office. Trump followed through with tariffs anyway, which he said were about fentanyl distribution and drug trafficking, and hit Canada and Mexico with a 25% fee on imports.
The tariffs would later spark boycotts in Canada of American goods and helped propel Trudeau’s replacement, liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to victory in an April 28 election. In a fiery speech, Carney declared that the U.S. would never own the nation and told Canadians that Canada must look out for itself.