Trump Says ‘We Just Want to Be Friends’ as Canada PM Torpedoes 51st State Idea
By Staff, Agencies
US President Donald Trump has said he “just want[s] to be friends with Canada” after his first post-election meeting with the country’s prime minister, Mark Carney – who used the gathering to shoot down any prospect of his country becoming the 51st state.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump praised Carney – whose Liberal party won the federal election last week – for one of the “greatest political comebacks of all time”, and described the prime minister’s visit as “an honor” for the White House.
The amicable tone of Tuesday’s meeting marked a stark contrast with Trump’s hostile rhetoric over recent months, as he launched a trade war against his northern neighbor, belittled Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, and made repeated threats to crush Canada’s economy with the aim of annexing it.
Carney returned the praise, telling Trump he was a “transformational president” with a strong focus on the economy. But he shot down any idea that Canada might accede to joining the US as the 51st state – a proposal again floated by Trump in the meeting.
“Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign … it’s not for sale,” said Carney. “Won’t be for sale, ever.”
“Never say never,” said Trump. Carney smiled and mouthed “never, never, never, never.”
The meeting between the prime minister and Trump is probably the most closely watched summit in Canada’s history, amid fears of further diplomatic and trading friction between two countries which have traditionally shared political and cultural values.
Minutes before the meeting, Trump posted on social media that he “very much” wants to work with Carney, but revived a debunked figure that the US is “subsidizing Canada by $200 Billion Dollars a year, in addition to giving them FREE Military Protection”.
“We don’t need their Cars, we don’t need their Energy, we don’t need their Lumber, we don’t need ANYTHING they have, other than their friendship, which hopefully we will always maintain,” he wrote. “They, on the other hand, need EVERYTHING from us! The Prime Minister will be arriving shortly and that will be, most likely, my only question of consequence.”
The country’s trade relationship came up during the meeting, with Trump signalling he was interested in renegotiating key aspects of USMCA free trade agreement, calling the prior deal, Nafta, the “worst in the history of the world”.
Carney pushed back on Trump’s characterization of the current deal, including the use of tariffs by US officials, but agreed the existing deal was a “framework” for future talks and a “bigger discussion”.
The prime minister later described his discussions with Trump as “very constructive,” and said they would at the G7 summit in Canada next month.
He also told reporters that he had asked Trump to stop referring to Canada as a part of the United States.
Trump was equally positive in his framing of the meeting, telling reporters after it went “very well” and set the stage for further talks.
“We want to do what’s right for our respective peoples, and that’s what’s going to happen,” he said. “As far as calling him governor Carney, no, I haven’t done that yet, and maybe I won’t. I did have a lot of fun with Trudeau. But I think this is, this is a big step up, it’s a good step up for Canada.”
