(DCNF)—Fox News contributor Marc Theissen, a speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, suggested President-elect Donald Trump scale back his proposal to make Canada the 51st state, citing its “bigger government.”
Trump proposed admitting Canada to the United States as the 51st state in a Christmas Day post on Truth Social, saying Canadians would see their taxes cut by 60%. Theissen told “The Story” guest host Rich Edson that a better idea would be take to take certain portions of America’s northern neighbor instead.
“Canada is a lot like America with bigger government, higher taxes and less freedom and less prosperity, so I don’t know that we necessarily want Canada as the 51st state,” Theissen said. “Because they have got a lot of problems. They’ve got a healthcare system where you have to wait two years for brain surgery. They’ve got, you know, a massive immigration problem, where they brought in a lot of people who certainly don’t love Canada and don’t love America, and are marching in the streets for Hamas. They’ve got problems.”
“I think we might take Alberta, they have got a lot of oil and they’re conservative. We might want the Northwest Territories and maybe Nunavut, maybe Newfoundland and Labrador,” Thiessen continued. “If we attach Greenland, we have the Northwest Passage and the Arctic Passage under U.S. control.”
President Joe Biden halted construction on the Keystone XL pipeline in January 2021, angering Alberta officials, who called the decision a “gut punch” to the province.
“Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary suggested an economic union between the United States and Canada to help counter China, but said many Canadians didn’t want Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to negotiate the deal.
“If Canada was to become our 51st State, their Taxes would be cut by more than 60%, their businesses would immediately double in size, and they would be militarily protected like no other Country anywhere in the World,” Trump said.
Trump floated buying Greenland from Denmark during his first term in office, but the Danish government rejected the idea. He again raised the possibility in a Dec. 23 post on Truth Social, while also musing about retaking control of the Panama Canal.
Trump announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada in a Nov. 25 post on Truth Social, insisting the two countries do more to halt the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs across their borders with the United States.
Shortly after Trump posted the threat to impose tariffs, Trudeau flew down to Palm Beach, Florida, to meet with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
