President Donald Trump offered insights into the ongoing tension with Canada over his administration’s plan to implement heavy tariffs.
During an interview with reporters at the Oval Office Thursday, Trump said that Canada has “ripped off” the U.S. for a long time and noted that the U.S. doesn’t necessarily need anything from Canada.
“Look, we’ve been ripped off for years, and we’re not gonna ripped off anymore,” Trump said. “No, I’m not gonna bend at all. Aluminum or steel, or cars, we’re not gonna bend. We’ve been ripped off as a country for many many years. We’ve been subjected to costs that we shouldn’t be subjected to. In the case of Canada, we’re spending $200 billion a year to subsidize Canada.”
Trump said he loves the people of Canada and has many friends there.
“I love Canada, I love the people of Canada … I have many friends in Canada, the great one Wayne Gretzky,” Trump told reporters. “How good is Wayne Gretzky, he’s a great one … I know many people from Canada that are good friends of mine. But you know the United States can’t subsidize a country for $200 billion a year. We don’t need their cars, we don’t need their energy, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need anything that they give. We do it because we wanna be helpful, but it comes a point when you just can’t do that, you have to run your own country.”
The idea that had been previously floated about making Canada part of the U.S. as the 51st state was once again brought up.
“To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state … we don’t need anything they have,” Trump reiterated. “As a state it would be one of the great states anywhere, and this would be the most incredible country visually.”
He continued: “If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it, between Canada and the U.S., just a straight artificial line somebody did it a long time ago. Many many decades ago, and it makes no sense. It’s so perfect as a great and cherished state. Keeping O’ Canada, the national anthem, I love it, I think it’s great, Keep it. But it’ll be for the state. One of our greatest states, maybe our greatest state.”
Trump then questioned why the U.S. would want to keep subsidizing another country when the U.S. has more to offer itself.
“Why should we subsidize another country for $200 billion, cost us $200 billion a year,” Trump said. “And again, we don’t need their lumber, we don’t need their energy, we have more than they do. We don’t need anything, we don’t need their cars, I’d much rather make the cars here. And there’s not a thing that we need.”
He added: “Now, there will be a little disruption, but it won’t be very long, but they need us, we really don’t need them. And we have to do this, I’m sorry but we have to do this.”
