Trump is no longer interested in turning Canada into the 51st state - Premier Carney
Kyiv • UNN
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated that Donald Trump is no longer interested in Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States. He also noted Canada's increased defense spending at Trump's initiative.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has stated that US President Donald Trump is no longer interested in turning it into the 51st state. This was reported by UNN referencing CNN.
Details
When asked by CNN's Christiane Amanpour on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Netherlands whether Trump still claims he wants to annex Canada, Carney replied: "No, he doesn't."
He admires Canada. I think it would be fair to say that, perhaps for a while, he coveted Canada
As CNN points out, this is not the first time an official has declared the annexation saga over. On May 22, Peter Hoekstra, the US Ambassador to Canada, told CNN broadcast partner CBC that "Donald Trump is no longer talking" about turning Canada into the 51st state. (A few days later, Trump posted on social media that Canada should become the 51st state to take advantage of the president's proposed missile defense system).
Carney has often stated that the old, close partnership between Canada and the United States is "over." He began his term cooperating with European partners in the UK and France, and even cooperated with Australia on new radar systems for the Canadian Arctic.
However, Carney credited Trump with pushing Canada to higher defense spending, especially to meet the benchmark for defense spending for NATO members.
The President is focused on changing a number of bilateral relationships. We are in NATO. He is focused on ensuring that all members, including Canada… pay their fair share. I think we are doing that now
Carney also believes that Trump has "the potential to play a decisive role" in the situation in the Middle East. While broader peace in the region is the ultimate goal, he added, the current priority should be to get the "basics": a ceasefire, full restoration of humanitarian aid and the release of all detainees.
Addition
In May, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, commenting on Donald Trump's call to make Canada the 51st US state, said that some places are never for sale.
On May 5, Donald Trump, when asked whether he was considering using force against Canada, replied: "I think that's very unlikely. I don't see that with Canada. I just don't see it."
In February, Donald Trump reiterated the topic of Canada possibly joining the US as the 51st state, commenting on the incident with whistling at the American anthem.