‘Better Off As State’: Marco Rubio On Trump’s Canada Annexation Threat Ahead Of Polls

<p>US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Sunday that President Donald Trump decided to annex Canada after the “previous prime minister” told him that the country could not survive without unfair trade with the US.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Rubio made the remark in apparent reference to former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the eve of <a href=”https://news.abplive.com/news/world/canada-elections-2025-to-go-for-polls-amid-trump-s-tariff-strike-annexation-threat-mark-carney-pierre-poilievre-1768420″ target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>federal elections in the North American country</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>During an interview with NBC, Rubio was asked whether or not the State Department has &ldquo;taken any steps to carry out&rdquo; Trump&rsquo;s plans &ldquo;as he has said, to annex Canada.&rdquo;</p>
<p>&ldquo;What the President said, and he has said this repeatedly, is he was told by the previous Prime Minister [Justin Trudeau] that Canada could not survive without unfair trade with the United States, at which point [Trump] asked, &lsquo;Well, if you can’t survive as a nation without treating us unfairly in trade, then you should become a state,&rsquo;&rdquo; Rubio said.</p>
<p>On being asked if the US still wants to annex Canada, Rubio said: “I think the President has stated repeatedly he thinks Canada would be better off as a state.&rdquo;</p>
<h2>Trump’s Annexation Threat&nbsp;</h2>
<p>The US President, after coming back to the White Housea for a second term, remarked on social media and to reporters that Canada could become the 51st state of the US.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In February, when Trump was asked if there was anything Trudeau could “give” to Trump amid ongoing tariff discussion, the Republican President reiterated that as a state, there would be no tariffs on the country.</p>
<p>&ldquo;What I&rsquo;d like to see; is Canada become our 51st state,&rdquo; Trump said. &ldquo;If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100% certain that it would become a state.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p>
<p>Canada’s current PM, Mark Carney who assumed the post in March has lashed out at Trump for his persistent comments about annexing Canada.&nbsp;</p>
<p>”To be clear, as I’ve said to anyone who’s raised this issue in private or in public, including the President, it will never happen,” Carney said during a campaign press conference.&nbsp;</p>