The U.S. President is once again expressing his desire to see our country join his. But when Trump’s Ambassador to Canada spoke to our ‘Closer Look’ podcast, he didn’t seem too keen on the idea
Donald Trump just won’t stop talking about Canada becoming the 51st state.
Earlier this week, the U.S. president was speaking about his “Golden Dome” missile defence plans in front of senior military officials gathered in Quantico, near Washington.
“Canada called me a couple of weeks ago, they want to be part of it, to which I said: ‘Well, why don’t you just join our country? You become 51 — become the 51st state — and you get it for free,’” Trump said.
“So, I don’t know if that made a big impact, but it does make a lot of sense.”
Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of annexing Canada and using economic force to take over the country, but he appeared to have dialed down his rhetoric lately — until this week.
His comments come as Prime Minister Mark Carney prepares for another trip to the White House Tuesday to continue face-to-face trade negotiations.
Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, was a recent guest on our Closer Look podcast. When asked about Trump’s repeated remarks about a 51st state, he said it’s not a topic he prefers to discuss.
“I’ve told people I don’t talk about it, so I’m not really going to talk about it with you either,” Hoekstra told the podcast. “I ask myself the question: ‘If we’re talking about the 51st state, am I improving the prosperity of Americans or Canadians? Am I improving the safety or security of either one of our countries?’ The answer is no.”
“You guys can talk about it tomorrow for 20 minutes, if you’d like, about how: ‘Boy, that American ambassador was really evasive on that issue,’” he continued. “You can have that discussion tomorrow. I’m not focused on it.”
You can watch the full exchange in the above YouTube video.
Our complete conversation with the U.S. Ambassador can be found HERE.
Podcast hosts Scott Sexsmith (left) and Michael Friscolanti, Editor-in-Chief of Village Media.
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