President Donald Trump mentioned he’s severe about wanting Canada to turn out to be the 51st state in an interview that aired Sunday in the course of the Tremendous Bowl preshow.
“Yeah it’s,” Trump advised Fox Information Channel’s Bret Baier when requested whether or not his discuss of annexing Canada is “an actual factor” — as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau just lately instructed.
“I believe Canada could be a lot better off being the 51st state as a result of we lose $200 billion a yr with Canada. And I am not going to let that occur,” he mentioned. “Why are we paying $200 billion a yr, primarily a subsidy to Canada?” The US will not be subsidizing Canada. The US buys merchandise from the pure resource-rich nation, together with commodities like oil. Whereas the commerce hole in items has ballooned in recent times to $72 billion in 2023, the deficit largely displays America’s imports of Canadian vitality.
- Learn: Trump 2.0: A maverick returns to world centre stage
Trump has repeatedly instructed that Canada could be higher off if it agreed to turn out to be the 51st US state — a prospect that’s deeply unpopular amongst Canadians.
Trudeau mentioned Friday throughout a closed-door session with enterprise and labor leaders that Trump’s discuss of creating Canada the 51st US state is “an actual factor” and is linked to his need for entry to the nation’s pure assets.
“Mr. Trump has it in thoughts that the best method to do it’s absorbing our nation and it’s a actual factor. In my conversations with him on,” Trudeau mentioned, in response to CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster. “They’re very conscious of our assets of what we’ve and so they very a lot need to have the ability to profit from these.” Within the interview, which was pre-taped this weekend in Florida, Trump additionally mentioned that he has not seen sufficient motion from Canada and Mexico to stave off the tariffs he has threatened to impose on the nation’s two largest buying and selling companions.
“No, it isn’t adequate,” he mentioned. “One thing has to occur. It is not sustainable. And I am altering it.” Trump final week agreed to a 30-day pause on his plan to slap Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on all imports aside from Canadian oil, pure gasoline and electrical energy, which might be taxed at 10%, after the nations took steps to appease his issues about border safety and drug trafficking.
Whereas touring Sunday on Air Drive One to the championship sport in New Orleans, Trump mentioned that he would on Monday announce a 25% tariffs on all metal and aluminum imports into the US, together with from Canada and Mexico and a plan for reciprocal tariffs later within the week.
“Very merely it is in the event that they cost us, we cost them,” he mentioned.
Trump’s participation within the interview marked a return to custom. Presidents have sometimes granted a sit-down to the community broadcasting the Tremendous Bowl sport, the most-watched tv occasion of the yr. However each Trump and his predecessor, Joe Biden, had been inconsistent of their participation.
Biden declined to take part final yr and in 2023, when efforts by his group to have Biden converse with a Fox Corp. streaming service as an alternative of the primary community failed. Throughout his first time period, Trump participated in three out of 4 years.
- Learn: Trump renews ‘51st State’ proposal for Canada after Trudeau resignation
Trump on Sunday may also turn out to be the primary sitting president to attend the Tremendous Bowl in particular person — one thing he advised Baier he was stunned to study.
“I believed it might be a superb factor for the nation to have the president on the sport,” he mentioned.
Throughout his flight to New Orleans, Trump signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 9 “the primary ever Gulf of America Day” as Air Drive One flew over the physique of water that he renamed by proclamation from the Gulf of Mexico.
Trump within the interview, additionally defended the work of billionaire Elon Musk, whose so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity, or DOGE, has been drawing deep concern from Democrats as he strikes to close down complete authorities companies and fireplace massive swaths of the federal workforce within the title of rooting out waste and inefficiency.
Musk, Trump mentioned, has “been terrific,” and can goal the Division of Training and the army subsequent.
“We will discover billions, lots of of billions of {dollars} of fraud and abuse,” Trump predicted. “I campaigned on this.” He was additionally requested about his dancing, which has turn out to be a well-liked meme on social media.
“I do not know what it’s. I try to stroll off typically with out dancing and I can not. I’ve to bounce as a result of it is simply that – one thing particular about it,” Trump responded.