President-elect Donald Trump's son Eric Trump was hit with fierce online backlash after he repeated his father's bizarre call to make Canada the "51st state" of the U.S.
Donald Trump has been trolling Canada's PM Justin Trudeau, suggesting that the United States annex Canada and make Trudeau governor.
Suggesting a sovereign nation should be annexed by the United States is not a good look at all—to say the least—but Eric Trump did it anyway, writing the following brief message on social media:
"51st State!" #Canada
You can see his post below.
Angry social media users were quick to call him out.
President-elect Trump is threatening to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, citing their alleged failures to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.
According to sources who spoke to Fox News, Trump suggested to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a meeting at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month that if a tariff for failing to address trade and immigration issues would devastate the Canadian economy, perhaps Canada should consider becoming the 51st U.S. state.
During the exchange, Trump accused Canada of neglecting the U.S. border by allowing significant numbers of drugs and migrants, including illegal immigrants from over 70 countries, to cross into the U.S.
Trudeau reportedly responded that such a tariff would completely destroy the Canadian economy. Trump replied by questioning whether Canada could only survive by "ripping off the U.S. to the tune of $100 billion."
At that point, Trump floated the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state, which reportedly elicited nervous laughter from Trudeau and others present. He added that "prime minister" was a better title than "governor" but joked that Trudeau could still serve as the governor of the new state.
Sources said that someone at the table quipped Canada would likely be a very liberal state, prompting further laughter. Trump then suggested that Canada could even split into two states—one conservative and one liberal.