Donald Trump has made his strongest attempt yet to take over Canada, offering the Canadian people a 60 percent tax cut if they agree to join the US and become the 51st US state.
The president-elect has proposed a territorial expansion into Canada, Greenland and Panama in recent days, and has mocked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by calling him “governor.”
Over Christmas, Trump escalated his campaigns against the governments of both Panama and Canada.
“Merry Christmas to everyone, including the great soldiers of China, who lovingly, but illegally, operate the Panama Canal (where we lost 38,000 people in the building 110 years ago), always ensuring that the United States brings in billions of dollars. Dollars in “repair money,” but will have absolutely no say in “anything,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday.
“Also against Governor Justin Trudeau of Canada, whose state taxes are far too high, but if Canada were to become our 51st state, their taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected become like no other country anywhere in the world.
“The same goes for the people of Greenland, who need the United States for national security purposes and want the US to be there, and we will!”
Trump recently posted that “Canadians want Canada to be the 51st state” and offered an image of himself atop a mountain peak mapping the surrounding area next to a Canadian flag.
Trudeau has suggested that Trump was joking about annexing his country, but the pair recently met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss Trump’s threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods.
Donald Trump has made his strongest attempt yet to take over Canada, offering the Canadian people a 60 percent tax cut if it becomes the 51st US state
Public Safety Secretary Dominic LeBlanc, who attended Friday’s dinner at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club, said Trump’s comments were a joke.
“The president told jokes. The president teased us. It was obviously not a serious comment on that issue in any way,” LeBlanc told reporters in Ottawa.
Trump made the stark declaration Sunday evening that he would like to buy Greenland when he announced his choice for ambassador to Denmark, PayPal co-founder Ken Howery.
“For purposes of national security and freedom throughout the world, the United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump showed interest in purchasing Greenland, an autonomous region of Denmark, during his first presidential term.
He was publicly rebuffed by Danish authorities – who reiterated that the island was ‘open for business, not for sale’ – before any talks could take place.
The Danish Prime Minister’s Office said in its own statement that the government “looks forward to welcoming the new US ambassador.” And the government looks forward to working with the new administration.”
Trump recently posted that “Canadians want Canada to be the 51st state” and offered an image of himself atop a mountain peak mapping the surrounding area next to a Canadian flag.
Trudeau has suggested that Trump was joking about annexing his country
The pair recently met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida to discuss Trump’s threats to impose a 25 percent tariff on all Canadian goods.
“In a complex security political situation such as the one we are currently experiencing, transatlantic cooperation is crucial,” the statement said. It noted that it had no comment on Greenland other than to say it is “not for sale but open to cooperation.”
Trump has renewed plans for Greenland after the president-elect suggested this weekend that the US could regain control of the Panama Canal if nothing is done to ease the rising shipping costs required to use the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean connects.
Panama President José Raúl Mulino responded in a video that “every square meter of the canal belongs to Panama and will remain so,” but Trump fired back on his social media site: “We’ll see about that!”