by Sharon Rondeau
(Dec. 10, 2024) — In a post released at approximately 1:00 AM EST Tuesday, President-Elect Donald J. Trump expressed his appreciation for a November 29 impromptu visit from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau while at the same time calling him “governor” and Canada a “state.”
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump posted on TruthSocial. “I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!”
While not always leaving a signature on his posts, Trump added “DJT” at the end.
In the same vein last Wednesday, Trump posted an image, no doubt AI-generated, of himself standing on a cliff overlooking a valley and massive, snow-covered mountains with a Canadian flag mounted next to him and the heading, “Oh Canada!”
The official name of the Canadian national anthem is “O Canada!“
Tuesday happens to be Human Rights Day in Canada, for which Trudeau issued a declaration from Ottawa, the nation’s capital.
In response, NBC News reported Trump’s comment as “mocking” of Trudeau. Likewise, Raw Story and The (UK) Independent described Trump’s words as “belittling.”
The New York Times, too, weighed in with the headline, “Trump Mocks Trudeau and Canada in Post on Tariffs and Trade,” while an article in The Hill described Trump’s statement as “trolling.”
Trudeau made the unexpected Friday-night visit to Trump’s Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, apparently in response to Trump’s warning to both Canada and Mexico of 25% tariffs he plans to impose on imported goods should their respective borders with the U.S. not be tightened to stem the flow of illegal aliens experienced over the Biden years.
In a public statement on Prince Edward Island shortly before leaving for Florida, Trudeau said Trump “plans on carrying out” his declared plan to impose the tariffs. He cautioned Canadians that Trump “would be actually not just harming Canadians who work so well with the United States. He [would] actually be raising prices for American citizens as well, and hurting American industry and businesses.” However, he also pledged to “work together to meet some of the concerns.”
On December 2, Fox News reported that Trump “suggested to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last week that if a tariff for failing to address trade and immigration issues would kill the neighbor to the north’s economy, maybe it should become the 51st state,” citing unnamed sources. The article further stated:
According to two people at the table who heard the discussion, Trump, while cordial and welcoming, was very direct when it came to what he wants from his counterpart to the North.
Paraphrasing the discussion, Trump told Trudeau that Canada has failed the U.S. border by allowing large amounts of drugs and people across the border, including illegal immigrants from over 70 different countries.
Sources say Trump became more animated when it came to the U.S. trade deficit with Canada, which he estimated to be more than $100 billion.
According to the article, Trudeau claimed the imposition of the tariff would be economically devastating to his country, with which Trump reportedly countered, “So your country can’t survive unless it’s ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion?”
His “suggestion” that Canada “become the 51st state” initiated nervous laughter at the table, Fox News writers Greg Wehner and Bret Baier reported.
“He told Trudeau that if he cannot handle his list of demands without ripping the U.S. off in trade, maybe Canada should really become a state or two and Trudeau could become a governor,” the article continued. “While sources say the exchange got many laughs, Trump delivered the message that he expected change by January 20.”
As of press time, whether Trump was “mocking,” “trolling,” “belittling,” “taunting” or simply joking with Trudeau is undetermined, at least to this writer, as Trump has not commented further on his relationship with Trudeau.
Toward the end of Trump’s first term, CTV reported a “yo-yo” relationship between the two beginning with their first meeting on February 13, 2017.
The notion of imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian products is not new. At the June 2018 G7 summit in Quebec, Trump declared his intent to impose the same tariff on Canadian steel imports and 10% on aluminum while reportedly telling “Canada and other trading partners not to impose retaliatory tariffs.”
At the time Trudeau said he found Trump’s threat “insulting” and claimed Canada’s existing tariffs on U.S. products were the result of refusing to be “pushed around.”
In turn, Trump tweeted that Trudeau had made “false statements” and withdrew the United States from an “ambitious communiqué” designed to foster “commitments on exchanging approaches for fair tax systems and fighting tax evasion, fighting protectionism, reducing trade barriers, establishing strong health systems, promoting growth in developing economies, and ending sexual and gender-based violence, among other issues.”
In an anticipated move, Trump exited the summit prior to its conclusion to travel to Singapore to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
Trump claimed Trudeau was “happy” that Trump was leaving early, missing the conference on “climate change and the environment.”
I think a little trolling about the North American Union may have been in play. Trudeau may believe he was to be Governor under that signed agreement.
The greatest insult to a Canuck is to suggest that they become American, that’s why it’s so funny (to us). Not so funny to them: besides, who in the heck would want all their Muslims and Jew hatred?