By Victor Morton – The Washington Times – Monday, December 2, 2024

Donald Trump reportedly wants to accomplish what the War of 1812 did not.

The president-elect was probably trolling Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at their meeting last week, but he reportedly suggested making Canada the 51st state. Or maybe the 51st and 52nd.

According to a report on Fox News, Mr. Trump made the suggestion when demanding that Mr. Trudeau do more to curtail illegal immigration and drug trafficking across America’s northern border.

Mr. Trump had publicly made the demand under threat of a 25% tariff on Canadian exports to the U.S., prompting Mr. Trudeau to say at Friday’s dinner at Mr. Trump’s estate in Florida that such a levy would destroy Canada’s economy.

Citing “two people at the table who heard the discussion,” Fox reported that Mr. Trump replied that if Canada depends on “ripping off” the U.S. to the annual tune of $100 billion, referring to the U.S. trade deficit with its northern neighbor, Canada should just become the 51st state.

The reply prompted people to “laugh nervously,” Fox reported, and Mr. Trump, known for a jocular approach to diplomacy, “continued, telling Trudeau that prime minister is a better title, though he could still be governor of the 51st state.”

According to Fox’s sources, the discussion “escalated.”

Someone else at the table, whom Fox did not identify, “warned” Mr. Trump that Canada would be a deep-blue state that would probably elect liberals and leftists. Were it a U.S. state, Canada would be the most populous, though only slightly ahead of California.

When that got a bigger laugh, Mr. Trump downplayed such an Electoral College “threat.”

“Trump suggested that Canada could possibly become two states: a conservative and a liberal one,” Fox News wrote.

The network reported that while the exchange drew much laughter, Mr. Trump was serious in expecting change from Canada before he takes office on Jan. 20.