Justin Trudeau has revealed the quip that silenced Donald Trump’s taunting that Canada should become the “51st state” during his visit to Mar-a-Lago last month.
The outgoing Canadian prime minister told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki that Trump broached the question of Canada’s sovereignty—a gibe he resurfaced earlier this week after Trudeau resigned—when the pair met in December.
“It actually sort of came up at one point,” Trudeau said. “And then we started musing back and forth about this. When I started to suggest, ‘Well, maybe there could be a trade for Vermont or California for certain parts,’ he immediately decided that it was not that funny anymore, and we moved on to a different conversation.”
While Trudeau may have shut down Trump in the moment, it didn’t last long.
Trudeau visited Mar-a-Lago last month. / Pool / Getty Images
“It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada,” Trump wrote on Truth Social soon after the conversation.
When Trudeau earlier this week announced his intent to step down as Canada’s leader as soon as his party names a replacement, Trump reveled with further jeers.
“Many people in Canada LOVE being the 51st State,” he posted. “The United States can no longer suffer the massive Trade Deficits and Subsidies that Canada needs to stay afloat. Justin Trudeau knew this, and resigned.”
Trump has vowed to enact a 25 percent tariff on goods entering the country from both Canada and Mexico when he takes office later this month.
Trudeau isn’t the only Canadian politician to fire back at Trump’s taunt—Ontario Premier Doug Ford proposed a counteroffer.
“How about if we buy Alaska?” he mused. “And we’ll throw in Minnesota and Minneapolis at the same time.”
