Saturday, February 08, 2025

'Not just trolling': Security analyst warns Trump no longer joking about taking Canada

Matthew Chapman
February 7, 2025 
RAW STORY

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump talks with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a North Atlantic Treaty Organization Plenary Session at the NATO summit in Watford, Britain, December 4, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo


President Donald Trump has moved on from joking about acquiring Canada as a U.S. state to thinking it's a good idea, former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner told CNN's Jake Tapper on Friday.

Trump has repeatedly made this suggestion as a solution to the trade war he started with Canada, imposing massive tariffs on their goods before agreeing at the last minute to a one-month delay while Canada moves forward with a pre-existing plan to secure its border with the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau caused a stir north of the border this week when he was caught on hot mic expressing his concern that Trump's interest in acquiring his country was "a real thing."

"Is Trudeau right here? Should Canadians be worried?" asked Tapper.

"I actually think that Trudeau was right," said Sanner. "I have four reasons for why President Trump makes these kinds of statements ... First is negotiating leverage. Second is because, actually, there are unfair trade practices in different countries, and, you know, 260 percent tariff on milk from Canada, it doesn't feel very fair, right? The third is because he actually needs to offset this huge and growing budget deficit, that's what Peter Navarro talks about. And the fourth one is trolling."

"So I think we are all, in the beginning, thinking about this like this is just kind of the trolling, he's having a little fun, right?" Sanner continued. "But one of the things about President Trump is, when he repeats things over and over and over again, it becomes more real. And I think that in this case, it's not just about negotiating, it's not just about trolling. And I think that absolutely there will be more to come and more pressure. How serious this is is a different matter. But does he actually think it should be true? I think he does. I think he's convincing himself."

"So it sounds like, would you say that you view his comments about turning Gaza into the new Middle East riviera and the U.S. taking control of that in a similar vein, like, it's not necessarily — he's not necessarily going to send troops to Canada or to Gaza," said Tapper.

"Right. But he's serious," said Sanner. "He's at the point, I believe, where there's some seriousness behind it, that it's not just he can think like, 'hey, that would be kind of a good idea.' Now, you know, [House Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries should start saying it, because it would definitely boost the Democrats if Canada came in ... it's not actually a good idea for Trump."

Watch the video below or at the link here.




   





No comments: