Does Donald Trump want to conquer Canada?
The president-elect posted a bewildering image of him and the Canadian flag on top of a mountain just days after suggesting Canada become the U.S.’s 51st state
“Oh Canada,” Trump captioned the AI-generated image.
There was just one problem: the mountain range appeared to be the Swiss Alps, with a peak reminiscent of the Matterhorn visible in the background.
It’s unclear exactly what Trump was referencing with the image, but clearly the neighbor up north is on his mind.
Last week, while dining with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau at his Mar-a-Lago residence, the President-elect reportedly joked that if Canada wanted to avoid a host of sweeping trade tariffs, it should consider joining the U.S.
Trudeau, among others at the meeting, responded to the quip with nervous laughter, sources told Fox News. Trump is said to have continued the gag by telling the Canadian leader that prime minister is a better sounding title than governor.
The sources added that another person at the table said that the 51st state would be a very liberal one which sparked further laughter – and a suggestion from Trump that Canada be split into two: a conservative state and a liberal state.
However, some of Trump’s most vocal supporters have continued to run with the joke.
Speaking on Fox’s The Five, host Jesse Watters said that there were “so many reasons” to make Canada a state.
“I think it has the third largest oil reserves in the world so that makes us an energy behemoth… It’s a no brainer,” he said, adding: “I don’t know if Canada is going to go along with it, but there’s ways to maybe change their opinion.”
Though the post may also have been in jest, prior to their Florida meeting, Trudeau had voiced his concerns that Trump’s tariff plans will not be merely empty threats.
“Donald Trump, when he makes statements like that, he plans on carrying them out. There’s no question about that,” he told reporters.
