“Nervous laughter” when Trump decided that Canada can become a US state

Published 4 December 2024 at 06.53

Foreign. After a meeting between US President-elect Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an unexpected comment about Canada's future has sparked reactions. Fox News reports.

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During the conversation at Mar-a-Lago, Trump suggested, according to media sources, that Canada could become the 51st state in the United States if the country cannot meet the American demands on trade and border security.

The US president-elect is said to have come up with the proposal after Trudeau pointed out that Trump's announced tariffs of 25 percent could destroy Canada's economy.

– So your country can't survive without playing tricks on the US? Trump is said to have responded according to Fox News.

He then suggested that Trudeau could become governor if Canada became a US state. When someone at the table pointed out that Canada would become a very left-leaning state, Trump suggested that the country could be split into two states — one liberal and one conservative.

The comment was met with “nervous laughter,” according to Fox News sources.

Canadian Security Minister Dominic LeBlanc downplays the incident in retrospect, describing the dialogue as “lighthearted.”

– The President was joking. The president was teased with us. It was, of course, not a serious comment on that issue, says LeBlanc according to the National Post.

Trump ended the meeting by clarifying his demands: Canada must strengthen border security and reduce the flow of drugs and migrants to the United States in order to avoid the customs duties. The intense meeting, which Trudeau nevertheless describes as “friendly and positive”, still leaves some question marks about the relationship between the neighboring countries ahead of Trump's inauguration as president.