During a Mar-a-Lago dinner Friday, President-elect Donald Trump, 78, discussed trade and border security with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, 52, while proposing an unconventional solution to bilateral tensions.
Trudeau pleaded against Trump’s threatened 25% tariff on Canadian imports, reportedly prompting the president-elect to joke about how Canada could resolve disputes by joining the United States as its 51st state. The proposal drew nervous laughter from Trudeau and other attendees, sources familiar with the dinner meeting said.
The proposed tariffs hinge on Canadian cooperation with U.S. demands to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking before Trump’s January 20 inauguration. Trump acknowledged that “prime minister” was a more fitting title than governor for Trudeau’s hypothetical role and later suggested dividing Canada into two states along political lines.
Trump characterized the three-hour meeting as “productive” in a post on Truth Social, but it’s unclear if Trudeau achieved his goal in the meeting.
“The idea that we came back empty-handed is completely false,” argued Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who attended the meeting with Trudeau. “We had a very productive discussion with Mr. Trump and his future Cabinet secretaries.” He added that “the commitment from Mr. Trump to continue to work with us was far from empty-handed.”
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