Source report & NRT opinion
Canada’s Prime Minister considered US military attack scenario amid trade war, Trump annexation threats
Based on reporting by World Socialist Web Site.
Source preview
According to the Times , “When pressed on whether he took Mr. Trump’s threats to make Canada a 51st state seriously, Mr. Carney suggested that he had carefully examined the possibility of U.S.-led military action, but declined to discuss in detail what that involved.”
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NRT commentary
How We See It
When Mark Carney says he “carefully examined” the possibility of U.S. military action against Canada, you have to wonder what exactly he was examining. Intelligence reports? Threat assessments? The plot of a Netflix miniseries? President Trump’s “51st state” talk is bluster, not battle plans. It’s the kind of jab you hear from a guy negotiating a trade deal, not a guy mobilizing the Fifth Fleet. Carney is either deeply paranoid or deeply dishonest.
The trade war is real, but so is the context. Trump wants Canada to stop running massive surpluses off the backs of American consumers and start paying for its own defense. That’s called hard bargaining. It’s not an invasion. But Carney’s Liberal government is in freefall, and a fake threat from the United States is a convenient distraction from a housing crisis, a stalled economy, and a prime minister nobody elected. Playing the victim is easier than fixing the country.
We don’t want to annex Canada. We want a fair deal with a neighbor who treats us like one. If Carney spent half as much energy on trade negotiations as he did imagining amphibious landings, we might have an agreement by now. The only military action happening is the one in his head. And frankly, it’s embarrassing to watch a supposed ally pretend his best customer is his enemy.
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