Eric Trump, son of incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, is following his father’s taunts of Canada, this time joking about buying the country on Amazon.
Eric Trump made a post on Truth Social and X on Dec. 24 that showed a doctored photo of his father ordering Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal on Amazon.
Trump has made several references to potentially making Canada the “51st state” since winning the 2024 election. He first made the joke while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was visiting Mar-a-Lago on Nov. 29, saying the country should become a state if it could not survive without a trade surplus courtesy of the U.S.
Finance Minister Dominic Leblanc, who had attended the dinner as public safety minister at that time, later said the president had made the comments in a joking manner, and that there was “cheerful banter between the prime minister” and Trump.
Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself on Dec. 3 posing on a mountain beside the Canadian flag, with the caption “Oh Canada!” The incoming president then said on Dec. 10 that it had been a “pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.”
Trump also wrote on Dec. 18 that “many Canadians” want Canada to become the 51st state, and that Canada would “save massively on taxes and military protection” if this were to happen.
While Trudeau has not responded directly to Trump’s jokes about annexing Canada, he has subtly criticized Trump in two recent public speeches. He said on Dec. 9 that many countries had voters who would be “wondering about the choice they maybe made in elections,” and on Dec. 11 said the Nov. 5 defeat of U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris in the presidential election was a setback for women.
With Trump threatening 25 percent tariffs on Canada if it does not take adequate steps to improve border security and stop the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants, Ottawa has been working on strengthening the Canada-U.S. border. The Canadian government recently announced a $1.3 billion border plan to tighten security, which includes creating a new North American task force targeting organized crime and drug trafficking and increasing funding for helicopters, drones, and surveillance towers.
In recent days, Trump has also spoken about purchasing Greenland from Denmark, an idea that Trump floated repeatedly during his first term as president. Trump said on Truth Social on Dec. 22 that the ownership of the nation of 57,000 is an “absolute necessity,” which prompted Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede to say the nation is “not for sale.”
Trump also said the U.S. was being “ripped off at the Panama Canal” and that its rates for U.S. ships passing through are too high. He said on Truth Social that the U.S. would demand that the canal, which was built by the U.S. in the early 20th century but given to Panama in 1999, be given back.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino responded that “every square meter” of the Panama Canal and the surrounding area belongs to Panama, to which Trump said, “We’ll see about that!” Trump also posted an AI-generated image of an American flag flying over the canal, with the caption “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
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