Justin Trudeau Says on Hot Mic That Trump Is Serious About U.S. ‘Absorbing’ Canada

(Mediaite)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on a hot mic Friday that President Donald Trump’s proposal for Canada to become the United States’ 51st state is very real.

Trudeau made his comments at a conference with business leaders to discuss Trump’s proposed 25 percent tariff on imported goods from Canada. Trump has said he wants a similar tariff on Mexico and a 10 percent tariff on China, citing illegal drugs and migrants flowing into the country.

CNN’s Paula Newton reported Saturday that Trudeau warned at the conference that Trump’s bluster about taking control of Canada is “very real” in comments Newton said were made after he thought “the media had left” the room.

“Mr. Trump has it in mind that the easiest way to do it is absorbing our country, and it is a real thing,” Trudeau said on an audio recording CNN aired.