WASHINGTON: US president-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday mocked Canada’s Justin Trudeau as the “governor” of a state, rather than prime minister of the giant US neighbour.

According to Fox News, Trump suggested making Canada the 51st US state during discussions with Trudeau in Florida, which followed threats to impose huge trade tariffs when he takes office in January

The report from Fox News said Trump told Trudeau that if Canada could not withstand his threatened 25 percent tariff on all Canadian imports, then it should be absorbed into the United States. The idea has long been joked about and Trump has a habit of provocative statements, especially on social media, that can be read as jokes or bluster. During his first term, Trump repeatedly discussed buying Greenland from Denmark.

“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” posted Trump on his Truth Social platform shortly after midnight.

“I look forward to seeing the Governor again soon so that we may continue our in depth talks on Tariffs and Trade, the results of which will be truly spectacular for all!”

“Why are we subsidising these countries?” Trump said in a televised interview that aired Sunday, referring to Mexico and Canada. “If we’re going to subsidize them, let them become a state,” he told NBC. Publicly, Trump and Trudeau said their meeting at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago estate went well.

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024