Justin Trudeau says U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took a shot at potentially annexing Canada during their recent meeting in Florida, but the topic was quickly dropped when the prime minister responded with a call for two states.
Trudeau, in an upcoming interview on MSNBC’s Inside with Jen Psaki, said “it was nice to reconnect” with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate last year despite the president-elect’s expressed wish, no matter how legitimate it is. be, to make Canada the 51st state.
“(Annexation) actually came up at one point and then we started reflecting on this,” Trudeau told Psaki. “And I started suggesting, ‘Well, maybe there could be a swap for Vermont or California for certain parts,’ and he immediately decided it wasn’t that fun anymore and we moved on to a different conversation.
“So it’s not unexpected that he’s doing this, but my focus shouldn’t be on something he’s talking about that will never happen, but rather on something that could very well happen.”
In the interview, Trudeau maintained Canada’s commitment to securing its border to thwart the movement of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the U.S. Trump has proposed a 25 percent tariff on goods entering the U.S. since Canada to advance Canadian action on those issues.
Trudeau says the tariffs will not only increase the price of almost everything for American citizens, but Canada “will have a forceful response.”
“We are ready to respond with tariffs as necessary. You may remember when Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, which only increased the cost of steel and aluminum for American consumers. We responded by imposing tariffs on things like bourbon, Harley Davidson (motorcycles), orange juice, playing cards, these types of things that Canadians can find replacements so they don’t have to pay more for them.
“And it ended up causing a lot of losses to American companies for whom Canada is the main exporter. We are the number one export partner for about 35 different US states. And anything that thickens the border between us ends up costing American citizens and “American jobs. That’s not what President Trump was elected to do.”
The full interview will air Sunday, January 12 at noon ET on MSNBC.
