Trump’s comments come as he is set to make history as the first president to attend the Super Bowl while in office.Credit: AP
President Donald Trump has repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state, stating that the country would be “better off.”
In an interview with Fox News that aired ahead of the Super Bowl on Sunday, Trump said: “I think Canada would be much better off being the 51st state because we lose $200 billion a year with Canada. And I’m not going to let that happen,” he said.
“Why are we paying $200 billion a year, essentially a subsidy to Canada?”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday that Trump’s talk of making Canada the 51st US state is “a real thing” and is linked to his desire for access to the country’s natural resources.
“Mr Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country and it is a real thing. In my conversations with him on,” Trudeau said, according to CBC, Canada’s public broadcaster.
“They’re very aware of our resources of what we have and they very much want to be able to benefit from those.”
In the interview Trump also said that he has not seen enough action from Canada and Mexico to prevent the tariffs he has threatened to impose on the country’s two largest trading partners.
“No, it’s not good enough,” he said. “Something has to happen. It’s not sustainable. And I’m changing it.”
While travelling on Air Force One to the Super Bowl in New Orleans on Sunday, Trump said that he would on Monday announce a 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports into the US, including from Canada and Mexico and a plan for reciprocal tariffs later in the week.
“Very simply it’s if they charge us, we charge them,” he said.
Trump also praised tech billionaire Elon Musk for his work cutting federal government spending and increasing efficiency, adding that he will find “billions of dollars of fraud” in the military department.
Musk is in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, which is responsible for reducing wasteful spending.
Trump described Musk as “terrific” and said he would soon focus on the Department of Defence, the country’s largest government agency.
“We’re going to find billions, hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud and abuse and, you know, the people elected me on that,” he said.
During his flight to the Super Bowl, Trump also signed a proclamation declaring February 9 the “Gulf of America” day.
When speaking to reporters, he also doubled down on owning Gaza.
He said: “I think that it’s a big mistake to allow people, the Palestinians or the people living in Gaza, to go back yet another time, and we don’t want Hamas going back.
“And think of it as a big real estate site, and the United States is going to own it and will slowly, very slowly, we’re in a rush to develop it.”
Trump is set to make history as the first president to attend the Super Bowl while in office.
He is expected to meet participants in Sunday’s honorary coin toss, including relatives of victims of a New Year’s Day terrorist attack in the city’s historic French Quarter, as well as members of the police department and emergency personnel.
The meet-and-greet is set to take place at Caesars Superdome ahead of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.
In a statement, Trump said: “I look forward to joining the fans in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX to cheer on two great teams.”
He also reflected on the deadly New Year’s attack: “While thousands of fans from across our Nation gather in New Orleans to cheer on their favourite team, we remember that 14 families will be missing a loved one who was tragically murdered during a senseless terrorist attack while celebrating the New Year on Bourbon Street,” he said.
Meanwhile, Trump said he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin about negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine.
In an interview with the New York post, Trump claimed Putin “wants to see people stop dying”.
The US president expressed hope that Putin’s war in Ukraine, which is approaching its third anniversary, ends “fast.” He had previously vowed to end the conflict within 24 hours of taking office.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told ITV News’ US partner CNN he “can neither deny nor confirm this news.”
