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<\/p>\nThe 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<\/p>\n
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Donald Trump just won\u2019t stop talking about\u00a0Canada becoming\u00a0the 51st state.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, the U.S. president was speaking<\/a> about his \u201cGolden Dome\u201d missile defence plans in front of senior military officials gathered in Quantico, near Washington.<\/p>\n \u201cCanada called me a couple of weeks ago, they want to be part of it, to which I said: \u2018Well, why don\u2019t you just join our country? You become 51 \u2014 become the 51st state \u2014 and you get it for free,\u2019\u201d Trump said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, I don’t know if that made a big impact, but it does make a lot of sense.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 until this week.<\/p>\n His comments come as Prime Minister Mark Carney prepares for another trip to the White House<\/a> Tuesday to continue face-to-face trade negotiations.<\/p>\n Get Closer Look in your inbox<\/a><\/p>\n Pete Hoekstra, the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, was a recent guest on our Closer Look<\/a> podcast. When asked about Trump\u2019s repeated remarks about a 51st state, he said it\u2019s not a topic he prefers to discuss.<\/p>\n \u201cI’ve told people I don’t talk about it, so I’m not really going to talk about it with you either,\u201d Hoekstra told the podcast. \u201cI ask myself the question: \u2018If 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?\u2019 The answer is no.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys can talk about it tomorrow for 20 minutes, if you’d like, about how: \u2018Boy, that American ambassador was really evasive on that issue,\u2019\u201d he continued. \u201cYou can have that discussion tomorrow. I’m not focused on it.\u201d<\/p>\n You can watch the full exchange in the above YouTube video.<\/p>\n Our complete conversation with the U.S. Ambassador can be found HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n Hosted by Village Media\u2019s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner,\u00a0Closer Look<\/a>\u00a0is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.<\/p>\n Fresh episodes drop every Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. right in your local news feed \u2014 and on the show\u2019s dedicated website: closerlookpodcast.ca<\/a>. Of course, you can also find us wherever you get your favourite podcasts.<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know when a new episode lands? Sign up<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0our free nightly newsletter<\/a>, which delivers the latest Closer Look straight to your email inbox. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel<\/a> or follow us on X<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> and TikTok<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have something to say? Please reach out. Our email address is [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n ![\"closer_look_shareimage_1200x628_generic\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1758081549_106_closer_look_shareimage_1200x628_generic.jpg;w=960.jpeg\"\/)
\nPodcast hosts Scott Sexsmith (left) and Michael Friscolanti,\u00a0Editor-in-Chief of Village Media.
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