Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada had one key objective in his high-stakes assembly with President Trump on Tuesday: say, in no unsure phrases, that Canada just isn’t going to develop into the 51st state, whereas avoiding a public struggle.
And he succeeded.
“As you already know from actual property, there are some locations that aren’t on the market,” Mr. Carney mentioned solemnly. “It’s not on the market it gained’t be on the market, ever,” he added.
“By no means say by no means,” Mr. Trump replied. However the second’s efficiency had been defused, and Mr. Trump clearly was not all for having a struggle with Mr. Carney, whom he praised for a surprising electoral victory only a few days in the past.
The connection between the next-door neighbors, allies and high buying and selling companions has been at a historic low since Mr. Trump’s re-election, due to his resolution to impose tariffs on Canadian items and his fixed chorus that he desires to make Canada a part of the US.
Lower than an hour earlier than Mr. Carney arrived on the White Home, Mr. Trump unloaded on Canada in a bellicose put up on Fact Social, repeating his frequent criticisms that the nation was too depending on the US.
“We don’t want ANYTHING they’ve, aside from their friendship, which hopefully we are going to all the time preserve,” Mr. Trump wrote. “They, alternatively, want EVERYTHING from us!”
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However Mr. Trump struck a way more conciliatory tone as soon as the 2 leaders sat down collectively within the Oval Workplace. Mr. Trump congratulated Mr. Carney on his election, praising the marketing campaign he ran as “one of many biggest comebacks within the historical past of politics.” (He didn’t point out that Mr. Carney gained on an anti-Trump platform).
“We have now some powerful factors to go over, and that’ll be high quality,” Mr. Trump mentioned.
As the general public portion of the assembly got here to a detailed, Mr. Trump contrasted this assembly with the disastrous one which Mr. Carney took pains to keep away from: the Oval Workplace assembly in February between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine.
“We had one other little blow up with any person else,” Mr. Trump mentioned. “That was a a lot completely different. That is, this can be a very pleasant dialog.”
Mr. Carney spoke simply thrice over the course of a half-hour assembly in entrance of the cameras. Mr. Trump dominated the airtime, largely with feedback that veered off matter.
After their public remarks within the Oval Workplace, the 2 leaders went on to a non-public working lunch, flanked by a few of their high advisers and ministers. That’s almost certainly be the place the substantive dialog about the way forward for the connection would start, though there have been no expectations {that a} breakthrough could be reached in Tuesday’s assembly.
Canada and the US share, along with Mexico, a free-trade settlement that now lays in tatters; Mr. Trump has mentioned that commerce with Canada overly favors Canada and hurts the US.
Mr. Carney mentioned that the discussions between the 2 of them would take time, and would prolong nicely past commerce points to embody different areas resembling safety and protection.
