President Donald Trump said Thursday that Canada would only benefit the U.S. as a state and that he will not back down on the tariffs he has imposed or are set to take place in April.
Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte that aired on Newsmax and the Newsmax2 online streaming platform. The meeting came days after Trump called on European allies to contribute more to the 32-nation military alliance’s defense fund.
The president’s 25% tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports took effect Wednesday, and tariffs on automobile imports are expected to kick in on April 2 after being delayed for a month. Trump is using tariffs to pressure Canada, as well as Mexico, to crack down on illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking.
“To be honest with you, Canada only works as a state,” Trump said. “We don't need anything they have. As a state, it would be one of the great states anyway. This would be the most incredible country visually. … 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 will be for the state, one of our greatest states, maybe our greatest state, but why should we subsidize another country for $200 billion?
“It costs us $200 billion a year. 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 now.
"There'll 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.”
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly said Wednesday that Canada becoming a U.S. state would be the “best way” to merge the countries’ economies. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Tuesday that “the president has made it clear he believes Canadians need to be better served economically, militarily if they become the 51st of the United States of America.”
Trump was asked whether he will bend on the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports that took effect Wednesday or the tariffs on automobile imports.
“No,” he said. “We've been ripped off for years, and we're not going to be ripped off anymore. No, I'm not going to bend at all on aluminum or steel. Or cars, we're not going to 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. I love Canada. I love the people of Canada. I have many friends in Canada. The great one, Wayne Gretzky, how good is Wayne Gretzky? He's the 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.”
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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