Trump's bold rhetoric stirs talk of annexation with Canada
For several weeks, President-elect Donald Trump has been formulating some quite controversial plans regarding the expansion of the USA. He has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland and the Panama Canal and in annexing Canada. He shared a new map of the USA on his social media platform, Truth Social.
On Tuesday, during a press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, the president-elect once again reiterated his desire to annex Canada to the USA and stated that he would use "economic force" to accomplish this.
- Considering Canada and the United States together, that would really be something. We would eliminate that artificially drawn line, see what it looks like, and it would be much better for national security, Trump stated.
Trump publishes a new map
He added that the USA is "essentially protecting Canada" and that Canada needs to compensate the USA for it. He claimed that America doesn't require any goods from Canada, highlighting the trade deficit with that country.
- Why should we have a £165 billion deficit and add to it many other things that we provide them in subsidies? And I said that's acceptable if you're a state, but if you're another country, we don't want that - said the president-elect. He added that the same applies to the European Union.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau quickly responded to Trump's remarks. "Never, absolutely never will Canada become part of the USA," Trudeau wrote in his French post on the platform X. In the English version, Trudeau wrote more emphatically, "there is not even the slightest shadow of a chance that Canada would become part of the USA."
Trump, however, seems to disregard the opinions of others. On his social media platform "Truth Social," he posted two entries: both feature maps of North America. On one of them, there is a massive US flag covering the entire continent except for Mexico. "Oh, Canada" - Trump commented on this illustration.
Does Trump want to annex his neighbour?
On the second map, the United States occupies the entire territory of North America except for Mexico.
Is it true that Trump wants to annex his larger neighbour?
American expert Andrzej Kohut explained in an interview with WP that Trump, even before taking office, often uses "bombastic statements as a negotiation strategy". The expert clearly pointed out that Trump does not have actual plans to annex Canada, but his suggestions may be an attempt to influence future trade relations and border security with Canada. Such statements become part of the political game.
