Donald Trump went on a tirade about his dreams of taking Canada as a state. He did this all while the NATO chief sat silently beside him.
“Canada only works as a state,” Trump said during his meeting with Mark Rutte, the Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The NATO chief said nothing, letting Trump talk himself into a corner as Trump ranted about his fantasies of border expansion.
“This would be the most incredible country visually. If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it, between Canada and the U.S., just a straight artificial line. Somebody did it a long time ago, many, many decades ago, and makes no sense. It’s so perfect as a great and cherished state,” he said.
He then graciously offered Canada the opportunity to keep its national anthem, O Canada.
If you're unaware, NATO operates under the principle of collective defense, meaning an attack on one member is considered an attack on all. Trump appeared not to think about the implications of suggesting that the U.S. take over Canada while sitting in front of the NATO chief.
After already hitting Canadian, Chinese, and Mexican imports with steep tariffs, Trump said he would be hitting the EU with 25 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum on Wednesday. The NATO partners swiftly retaliated, causing Trump to threaten 200 percent tariffs on wine, Champagne, and other alcohol imports from Europe.
“The European Union is very, very nasty,” Trump said while sitting next to Rutte, a former prime minister of the Netherlands.