President Donald Trump, while speaking with reporters Friday, said that Canada would be a "cherished" 51st state, even if the United States needs nothing from its northern neighbor.
"Remember, with Canada, we don't need their cars, and we don't need their lumber," Trump said in the press conference, carried live on Newsmax. "We don't need their energy; we don't need anything from Canada, and yet, it costs us a $200 billion a year subsidy to keep Canada afloat."
The United States, he added, can't be carrying a country that is "right next to us on the border."
"It would be a great state; it would be a cherished state," he said. "The taxes for Canadian citizens would go down in less than half. They don't spend money on [their] military because they think we are going to protect them."
Meanwhile, Trump said he has not changed his mind on tariffs for Canada, even though he agreed to give American car companies a break "because it would have been unfair if I didn't."
"Sometimes, flexibility works," he said. "Nobody knows that Canada is charging our dairy farmers, they have 270% tariffs. Nobody knows that … they have a couple of tariffs at 400%. Nobody knows that; nobody talks about that."
But the Canadians are "tough traders," said Trump.
"Canada has been a very nasty negotiator against the United States and took advantage of the United States for a long time," Trump added.
He also dismissed concerns that if Canada was the nation's 51st state, it would be a blue state.
"You have that artificial [border] line," he said. "It is just an artificial line that was drawn in the sand, in the ice. You add that to this country, and what a beautiful landmass."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.