In an interview that was aired on Sunday, during the Super Bowl Preshow, President Donald Trump stated that he wants Canada to be the 51st State.
Bret Baier of Fox News Channel asked Trump if his recent talk about annexing Canada was “a reality” — just as Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister, suggested.
“I believe Canada would do better as the 51st State, because we are losing $200 billion per year to Canada. “I’m not letting that happen,” he said. Why do we pay $200 billion per year to Canada, which is essentially a subvention?
Canada is not subventioned by the United States. The U.S. purchases products from Canada, which is rich in natural resources. This includes commodities such as oil. The trade deficit in goods has risen in recent years, reaching $72 billion by 2023. This is largely due to the United States’ energy imports from Canada.
Trump has suggested repeatedly that Canada would benefit if it became the 51st U.S. State — a prospect which is unpopular with Canadians.
Trudeau told business leaders and union representatives in a closed door session on Friday that Trump’s claim to make Canada the 51st state of the United States is “real” and linked to Trump’s desire to access the natural resources.
Trudeau told CBC that Trump believes the best way to achieve his goal is to absorb our country. This is a reality. “They are very aware of the resources we have, and they want to take advantage of them.”
The interview was recorded in Florida this weekend and Trump said he had not seen Canada or Mexico take enough action to prevent the tariffs that he threatened to impose against the two biggest trading partners of the United States.
He said, “No, that’s not enough. Something must happen. It is not sustainable. I’m changing the system.”
Trump agreed last week to a 30 day pause in his plan to slap Mexico with a 25% tax on all imports, except for Canadian natural gas and electricity which would be taxed 10%. This was after the countries made steps to ease his concerns over border security and drug-trafficking.
Trump, while traveling on Air Force One Sunday to the championship match in New Orleans, said that he would announce on Monday a 25% tariff on all steel imports and aluminum exports, including those from Canada and Mexico. He also announced a plan of reciprocal tariffs for later in the week.
He said: “It’s very simple, if we charge them, they pay us.”
Trump’s interview was a return of tradition. Presidents usually sit down with the network that broadcasts the Super Bowl, the most watched television event of the entire year. Both Trump and Joe Biden were inconsistent with their participation.
Biden refused to participate in the broadcasts last year, and again in 2023. His team failed to convince him to speak to a streaming service of Fox Corp. instead of their main network. Trump attended 3 of the 4 years during his first term.
Trump will be the first president in office to attend Super Bowl Sunday. He told Baier that he was surprised.
He said, “I thought that it would be good for the country to see the president at the match.”
Trump declared the 9th of February “the first Gulf of America Day”, as Air Force One flew above the water body he had renamed from the Gulf of Mexico.
Trump also defended Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), whose actions have caused Democrats to be deeply concerned as it moves to close down entire government agencies and fire a large number of federal employees in the name of eliminating waste and inefficiency.
Musk, Trump said, has “been terrific,” and will target the Department of Education and the military next.
“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse,” Trump predicted. “I campaigned on this.”
He was also questioned about his dancing which has become an internet meme.
“I don’t understand it. Sometimes I walk away without dancing and I just can’t. I have to dance, because there’s something special about it,” Trump replied.