Trump says 'highly unlikely' US uses military force to annex Canada

Trump says 'highly unlikely' US uses military force to annex Canada


WASHINGTON — In an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press", President Donald Trump said he still wants to make Canada the 51st U.S. state and does not envision the United States using military force to seize the neighboring country.

During the interview, which aired on May 4, Trump said he's still interested in annexing Canada but does not label it in the same category as Greenland, a Danish territory Trump has repeatedly suggested the U.S. could one day be compelled to acquire.

Asked if he would rule out military force to take Canada, Trump told "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker: "Well, I think we’re not going to ever get to that point. It could happen, something could happen with Greenland. I’ll be honest, we need that for national and international security."

"But I think it’s highly unlikely," Trump added, as Welker chimed in to buttonhole him on Canada. "I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you," he said with a laugh.

Trade tensions with Canada
The relationship between Canada and the United States has been tense since Trump threatened the country with blistering tariffs. At a late November dinner in Florida with former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he upped the ante by suggesting that Canada give up its sovereignty and become part of the United States. Trump proceeded to needle Trudeau, calling him "Governor" of the "Great State of Canada" on social media.

Trudeau, under pressure from his party to resign amid falling polling, said in early January that he would leave his office. Trump followed through with tariffs anyway, which he said were about fentanyl distribution and drug trafficking, and hit Canada and Mexico with a 25% fee on imports.

The tariffs would later spark boycotts in Canada of American goods and helped propel Trudeau's replacement, liberal Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to victory in an April 28 election. In a fiery speech, Carney declared that the U.S. would never own the nation and told Canadians that Canada must look out for itself.

"As I have been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country," Carney said. "But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never ever happen."

Trump on annexation plan: 'What a beautiful country it would be'
Carney says he will meet with Trump at the White House on May 6. Trump told NBC that Carney is a "nice man" and confirmed he would soon visit.

"He called me, he was very nice, and I congratulated him," Trump said of his call with Carney after the election. "It’s a very close victory. You know, there’s no majority or anything, so that’s going to make things a little bit difficult, I think, for him to run. But he nevertheless had a victory."

Trump indicated he plans to bring up his proposed annexation of Canada during the meeting with Carney.

"If you look at our map, if you look at the geography — I’m a real estate guy at heart. When I look down at that without that artificial line that was drawn with a ruler many years ago — it was just an artificial line, goes straight across, what a beautiful country it would be. It would be great," Trump said.

One way or another: Trump says U.S. will 'get Greenland,' military force may not be needed but not ruled out
Underscoring his argument for Canada to volunteer and become a U.S. state, Trump told NBC that the United States doesn't want or need anything the country produces.

"We don’t need anything. We do very little business with Canada," Trump said. "They do all of their business practically with us. They need us. We don’t need them."

Canada is one of the United States' top two trading partners. The United States exported $349.4 billion in goods to Canada in 2024, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. U.S. goods imports from Canada totaled $412.7 billion in the same year.

Trump has argued that the gap between Canada and the U.S. is much larger when defense spending is accounted for. Canada is one of a handful of NATO nations that spends less of its GDP, as a percentage, on military expenditures than the alliance's mutually agreed upon guidelines.

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