Trump says he will use ‘economic force’ against Canada
Washington (PTI): US President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he will use “economic force” to make Canada a part of the United States, a comment that attracted sharp reaction from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“No,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago in Florida when asked if he is considering military force to annex and acquire Canada. Over the past few weeks, Trump has asserted that he wants to make Canada part of the United States and its 51st state. Many times, he has been mocking Trudeau as the Governor of Canada.
“(I will be using) economic force because Canada and the United States, that would really be something. You get rid of that artificially drawn line and you take a look at what that looks like, and it would also be much better for national security. Don’t forget, we basically protect Canada,” Trump said.
Trudeau, who resigned as the prime minister of Canada a day earlier, responded sharply on social media. “There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States,” he said in a post on X.
“Workers and communities in both our countries benefit from being each other’s biggest trading and security partner,” Trudeau said.
Trump said he loves the people of Canada, but the United States can no longer financially support Canada.
“I love the Canadian people, they’re great. But we’re spending hundreds of billions a year to protect it. We’re spending hundreds of billions a year to take care of Canada. We lose in trade deficits we’re losing massive — we don’t need their cars. You know, they make 20 per cent of our cars. We don’t need that. I’d rather make them in Detroit,” he asserted.
“We don’t need the cars; we don’t need their lumber. We have massive fields of lumber. We don’t need their lumber. We have to un-restrict them because stupid people put restrictions on, but I can do that with an executive order. We don’t need anything they have. We don’t need their dairy products, we have more than they have. We don’t need anything,” he said.
“So, why are we losing USD 200 billion a year and more to protect Canada? And I said that to, as I called him, Governor Trudeau, I said, listen, what would happen if we didn’t subsidise you, … Here’s what we have, we have a right not to help them with their financial difficulties because we owe USD 36 trillion too. We’re going to start knocking it out pretty fast, but we’re going to be able to do it because of energy and other things. But why are we supporting a country USD 200 billion plus a year?” he said.
“Our military is at their disposal, all of these other things. They should be a state. That’s why I told Trudeau when he came down. I said what would happen if we didn’t do it. He said Canada would dissolve. Canada wouldn’t be able to function if we didn’t take their 20 per cent of our car market.
“Again, they send us hundreds of thousands of cars. They make a lot of money with that. They send us a lot of other things that we don’t need. We don’t need their cars, and we don’t need the other products. We don’t need their milk. We’ve got a lot of milk; we’ve got a lot of everything, and we don’t need any of it,” Trump said.
“So, I said to him, well, why are we doing it? He said I don’t really know. He was unable to answer the question, but I can answer it. We’re doing it because of habit and we’re doing it because we like our neighbours and we’ve been good neighbours. But we can’t do it forever and it’s a tremendous amount of money. Why should we have a USD 200 billion deficit and add on to that many, many other things that we give them in terms of subsidy?” he said.
“I said that’s okay to have if you’re a state, but if you’re another country, we don’t want to have it. We’re not going to have it with the European Union either. European Union, we have a trade deficit of USD 350 billion. They don’t take our cars, they don’t take our farm products, they don’t take anything. And so, we’re not going to have it with them either,” Trump said.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Punjab CM Mann meets President Murmu, seeks cancellation of membership of 6 RS members
Chandigarh (PTI): Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday met President Droupadi Murmu, demanding the termination of the membership of six Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab who defected to the BJP and also pressed for the introduction of a constitutional provision allowing for the recall of members.
Accompanied by party MLAs and ministers, Mann visited Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
This meeting followed a significant setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on April 24, when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs -- Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal -- quit and merged with the BJP, alleging that the party had strayed from its principles, values and core morals. Six of the seven MPs who left AAP hailed from Punjab.
After he met with the President, Mann addressed the media here, describing the departure of the seven MPs as a "murder" of the Constitution. He stated, "Seven MPs merging with another party is completely unconstitutional. I spoke to Rashtrapati ji in detail."
Mann pointed out that he told the President that the BJP holds only two MLA seats (in Punjab), yet now has six MPs in the Rajya Sabha. He questioned, "How can this be possible? Isn't it a mockery of the Constitution?
"If they are such revolutionaries at heart, then they should have resigned from their six seats. The AAP could have sent someone else," Mann said, taking a swipe at them.
He emphasised the need for a recall provision in the Constitution, referencing MP Raghav Chadha's previous demands for such a measure when members fail to meet public expectations.
"Have you lived up to the expectations of the people?" Mann challenged the MPs during his statement.
Mann also presented a letter to the President, signed by all AAP MLAs. He differentiated between the terms 'elected' and 'selected,' stating, "They were 'selected.' Therefore, their membership should be cancelled."
The President assured Mann that she would consult constitutional experts before responding.
Earlier in the day, Mann, along with party MLAs, departed for Delhi from Chandigarh.
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh, Mann affirmed that all AAP MLAs stand united with the party. "Only I have been given time for the meeting," Mann said.
"The President is the guardian of the Constitution. She is the constitutional head of the country," he added.
Later in a post on X in Hindi, Mann said, "Our struggle to protect Punjab's rights and interests continues. Today, along with all AAP MLAs, I have left to discuss Punjab's burning issues and present the state's strong voice before the President.
As your public servant, our government remains fully committed to Punjab's prosperity and the safeguarding of the rights of every section of society."
The MLAs and ministers gathered at the chief minister's residence in the morning before heading to Delhi, carrying placards that read 'Punjab Mann De Naal' and 'Punjab's Traitors.'
The legislators left for Delhi in buses.
Mann had previously sought an appointment with the President to meet with party MLAs and demand the "recall" of the Rajya Sabha MPs who defected to the BJP. However, only Mann was given a time slot for the meeting.
