President Trump on Tuesday said the United States will “always” protect Canada militarily, even as he lamented about the cost of doing so.
“We protect Canada militarily, and we always will — we’re not gonna, you know, that’s not a money thing — but we always will. But it’s not fair,” Trump said alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the White House.
The meeting, the two’s first in-person face-to-face encounter since the prime minister’s election victory, largely centered on Trump’s tariffs against Canada, which he said were here to stay. The commander in chief also repeatedly mused about making the U.S. ally the 51st state, something Carney and other Canadian officials have repeatedly rejected.
“I think that there are tremendous benefits to the Canadian citizens, tremendously lower taxes, free military — which, honestly we give you essentially anyway because we’re protecting Canada if you ever had a problem,” Trump said during the meeting.
Carney replied: “It’s not for sale, it won’t be for sale ever. But the opportunity is in the partnership and what we can build together.”
He added that the Canadian government “is committed for a steep change in our investment in Canadian security and our partnership,” with Trump agreeing that the country “is stepping up the military participation.”
Washington and Ottawa share multiple security commitments under NATO, the intelligence alliance “Five Eyes,” and through the North American Aerospace Defense Command, deeply binding their collective safety.
The alliance has been called into question, however, as Trump has on numerous occasions suggested that Canada could become part of the United States, even floating the idea of taking military action to bring the northern neighbor into its fold.
The bond between the two countries has also been shaken thanks to the Trump administration imposing 25 percent tariffs on Canadian goods last month.
On Sunday he mostly ruled out the military option to unify Canada and the United States, though not entirely.
“Well, I think we’re not going to ever get to that point. It could happen,” Trump told NBC’s Kristen Welker in an interview for “Meet the Press.”
He later said: “It’s highly unlikely. I don’t see it with Canada. I just don’t see it, I have to be honest with you.”
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