President Donald Trump is making headlines again — this time with a surprising offer to our neighbor to the north. The leading Republican candidate has shared new information about a daring plan to bring Canada into the United States, but there’s a catch: they have to agree to be the 51st state. “I told Canada, which really wants to join our amazing Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they stay a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our beloved 51st State.” The “Golden Dome System” is thought to refer to a high-tech missile defense system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.
Last week, Trump said that the U.S. has picked a design for the missile defense system.
He mentioned that the Golden Dome will be ready “by the end of [his] time in office,” and it won’t just protect land and sea. Trump claims it will have a wide network of space-based sensors and interceptors, allowing the U.S. to stop threats from almost anywhere.
Instead, he’s suggesting what he calls a “zero dollar” option: statehood.
Earlier this year, during a visit to Washington, Canada’s former defense minister Bill Blair said the country was open to joining the dome project, stating it “makes sense” and fits with Canada’s “national interest.”
At that time, the then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brushed off Trump’s tactics, saying that Canada was never going to be America’s 51st state.
Canada is “never [going to be] for sale.”
No official confirmation
However, Trump, who is not someone to easily accept a firm “no,” appears to be increasing the pressure with this new “Golden Dome” angle.
According to what Trump has said, “Canada is supposedly ‘thinking about the offer.’”
Yet, there’s no official word from Ottawa, and political experts in both countries are mostly viewing this idea as just a show — even if it’s a show with serious consequences. Still, the point is clear: Trump is ready to trade national security and economic benefits for one of the most daring geopolitical actions in recent times.
Whether Canadians view statehood as a fix or a defeat is a completely different matter. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that Donald Trump doesn’t make deals without grabbing attention.
