US President-elect has reiterated what he thinks is a 'great idea' saying that many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st state of the US. The statement comes amidst political turmoil in Canada following the resignation of the country's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland earlier this week. Taking to Truth Social, Trump posted, "Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State." Calling it a 'great idea', he added that this way "Canadians would save massively on taxes and military protection."
Trump's comments have sparked mixed reactions from Canada, as some Canadian officials have referred to the remarks as 'humiliating', and 'not funny'. Notably, a recent survey by Leger reveals that almost 13 per cent of Canadians are in favour of closer ties with the US, however, experts have called Trump's comments driven by political gamesmanship.
When Trump called Trudeau as 'Governor of Canada'
Earlier, Trump had taken a jab at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the social media platform Truth Social, where he described him as the "Governor of Canada". The Canadian PM went to Mar-a-Lago last week for a dinner with Trump to discuss the President-elect's warning to impose a 25 per cent tariff on Canada if its government failed to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs from the country into the United States.
In a post on Truth Social mocking the Canadian prime minister, Trump said, "It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada."
Here's what Trump had told Trudeau
During the dinner, when Trudeau said that such a tariff would destroy the Canadian economy, the President-elect reportedly told him to make Canada the 51st state of the United States.
Trump repeated this in an interview with NBC News over the weekend and again in the post on Tuesday.
"I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in-depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all! DJT," Trump said in his post.
"The president-elect's mockery of Canada and its leader is the latest salvo after his promise to impose steep tariffs on Canadian exports," The New York Times reported.
(With agency inputs)
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