President Donald Trump doubled down on his repeated suggestion that Canada should become the 51st state, insisting in a newly published interview that he’s completely serious about the idea despite widespread backlash from Canadian officials and skepticism from reporters.
Speaking earlier this week in a sit-down conversation, Trump was asked if his frequent references to absorbing Canada into the United States were meant as a provocation or simply trolling. He rejected that interpretation.
“Actually, no, I’m not,” Trump responded. “You might think I’m trolling but I’m really not. Canada is an interesting case.”
Trump went on to repeat familiar complaints about the U.S.-Canada trade relationship, alleging that the United States is on the losing end of trade deals and has carried the burden of supporting Canada militarily and economically.
“We’re taking care of their military. We’re taking care of every aspect of their lives,” Trump said. “We don’t need them to make cars for us. We don’t need their lumber. We don’t need their energy. We don’t need anything from Canada.”
He then argued that the best solution would be to fully integrate Canada into the United States.
“I say the only way this thing really works is for Canada to become a state,” Trump said.
The idea of Canada joining the U.S. has become a recurring theme in Trump’s speeches and interviews, often framed as a fix to what he describes as an imbalanced trade relationship. He has at times dismissed the U.S.-Canada border as arbitrary and referred to Canada’s former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as if he were a subordinate American official, calling him “governor” in jest.
Though the comments have been widely condemned across Canadian political lines and dismissed as unrealistic, Trump continues to treat the concept as a legitimate policy position not a joke.
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