The Daily Populous Friday March 14th, 2025 day edition
Authored by globalnews.ca and submitted by joe4942

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U.S. President Donald Trump repeated his frequently-voiced desire to acquire Canada and Greenland on Thursday — this time with the leader of NATO sitting next to him.

“I think it will happen,” Trump said when asked by a reporter about the U.S. taking over Greenland during an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.

“I’m sitting with a man that could be very instrumental — you know Mark, we need that for international security,” he continued, turning to Rutte.

The secretary-general said he did not “want to drag NATO into” a conversation about the U.S. acquiring Greenland, but acknowledged the importance of Arctic security and northern countries working together “under U.S. leadership” to combat China and Russia.

Asked about tariffs on Canada, Trump spoke of his grievances with Canadian trade and returned to his call to make Canada the 51st U.S. state.

“This would be the most incredible country visually,” he said. “If you look at a map, they drew an artificial line right through it, between Canada and the U.S., just a straight artificial line. Somebody did it a long time ago, many many decades ago, and it makes no sense.”

Rutte said nothing about the possibility of the U.S. threatening the border of a founding NATO member. Greenland is a part of Denmark, another NATO ally, but is an autonomous territory with its own government.

1:31 NATO’s Rutte says the alliance needs to produce more weapons

Trump spoke just moments after his nominee for ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, told senators at his confirmation hearing that “Canada is a sovereign state” and stressed the importance of the historical bilateral relationship.

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford and federal officials were in Washington on Thursday to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to discuss a path forward for trade and tariffs.

The Canada-U.S. relationship was also set to be discussed at a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Quebec the same day.

Canadian officials, including incoming prime minister Mark Carney, have repeatedly stressed that Canada will never become a part of the U.S.

Trump’s threats have also sparked a wave of patriotism among Canadians, with polls showing almost 70 per cent think less of Americans as a result of increasing tariffs.

Trump told reporters he won’t change his mind and abandon his tariffs, including “reciprocal” duties set to begin April 2, despite Thursday’s visit by Canadian officials.

2:13 ‘Not going to bend’: Trump says he won’t change his mind on worldwide tariffs April 2

Other allied world leaders have declined to voice concerns about Trump’s threats against Canada’s sovereignty when appearing next to him.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused a reporter of “trying to find a divide between us that doesn’t exist” when asked about the issue during a press conference with Trump at the White House last month.

Asked directly in the British Parliament on Wednesday if he will travel to Canada “as soon as possible” to show support amid Trump’s attacks and tariffs, Starmer said the U.K. stands with its ally.

“Canada is an ally and a very important ally too, and I have spoken to our allies on many occasions about the situation in Canada,” he responded.

0:36 UK’s Starmer not concerned over U.S. threats to absorb Canada as 51st state

In Greenland, which held parliamentary elections on Tuesday, the likely new prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen rejected Trump’s proposed takeover, a view shared by most voters.

“We don’t want to be Americans,” Nielsen told Britain’s Sky News on Wednesday.

Rutte was in Washington to meet with Trump as the U.S. president tests the strength of the military alliance, pushing members to spend more on defence and threatening to not come to the aid of those that don’t meet their spending commitments.

Canada has fallen short for years of NATO’s target of spending at least two per cent of GDP on defence. The federal government says it has a “clear and credible plan” to reach that threshold by 2032 or earlier, but has not released details on exactly how.

Trump has said he wants the NATO defence spending target increased to five per cent of GDP, a level no member — including the U.S. — currently meets.

Rutte has said he’s supportive of Trump’s calls for increased spending. He said on Thursday the alliance’s members need to produce more weapons and were lagging behind Russia and China.

—with a file from the Associated Press

Kitchener1981 on March 13rd, 2025 at 20:17 UTC »

He wants the Northwest Passage but doesn't know how to play and cooperate with others because he's still stuck business world where it is all or none. If he's concerned about Russian and Chinese presence in the Northwest Passage, let Canada, Denmark (Greenland), and United States have an open and honest discussion. What are you willing to do, what do you other nations to do. Canada has ice breakers, the Arctic strategy has been an election issue for several cycles now. Quit this nonsensical bullying tactic of annexation or we are going to isolate you further. Trump is trying to combine Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine to make North America the hegemony of the United States.

FirstCircleLimbo on March 13rd, 2025 at 20:14 UTC »

It's important to understand that Trump literally believes he can make things happen by stating it and then repeating it over and over again until it becomes reality. He will therefore keep saying that Greenland and Canada should be part of the US, because then it will happen. It's a kind of magical thinking that is not unique to Trump.

joe4942 on March 13rd, 2025 at 19:51 UTC »

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his desire to acquire Canada and Greenland, stating "I think it will happen" during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte. Trump also expressed his grievances with Canadian trade and suggested that Canada should become the 51st US state, claiming that the border between the two countries is "an artificial line" that "makes no sense". Canadian officials, including incoming prime minister Mark Carney, have repeatedly stated that Canada will never become part of the US. The leader of Greenland, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, has also rejected Trump's proposed takeover, saying "We don't want to be Americans" after his party won the country's parliamentary elections.