Volume 6, Issue No. 25
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /
Our latest as of Wednesday, January 8, 2025
~ The convicted felon Donald Trump, elected US president in the November 2024 election and will assume office on January 20, 2025, has advanced his idea of Canada being the "51st state" of the United States and its Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, "governor of Canada." Trump has also cast his eyes on Greenland and Mexico and a takeover of the Panama Canal. Perhaps these musings are the modern-day remake of the 19th century belief embodied in "Manifest Destiny" of America's territorial expansion.
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CANADA - THE 51ST STATE OF THE U.S.?
Justin Trudeau: Not So Fast, Donald!
'There Isn't a Snowball's Chance in Hell . . .'
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"The smaller the mind the greater the conceit." - Aesop
TORONTO - Donald Trump salivates at getting Canada the "51st state" of the United States. He has also cast covetous eyes on Greenland, Mexico and Panama, specifically the Panama Canal.
Perhaps these musings are the modern-day remake of the 19th century belief embodied in "Manifest Destiny" of America's colonialism and territorial expansion.
(Background: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifest_destiny)
His intention, amplified on social media accounts and multiple press statements, has caused so much consternation among leaders and citizens of those countries.
For one, Justin Trudeau, now the lame-duck Prime Minister of Canada after announcing he was stepping down until a new party leader is chosen, managed to stand up to Trump after the latter repeatedly mocked him as "governor of Canada".
"There isn't a snowball's chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States," Trudeau tweeted on X on Tuesday (Jan. 7) afternoon. (Related video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ag-avnpItw).
"Not have a snowball's chance in hell" is an idiom meaning, according to the dictionary, "to be completely impossible or incredibly unlikely, to have no chance whatsoever."
In his musings, Trump said "Many Canadians want Canada to become the 51st State." Further, he wrote on Truth Social: "They would save massively on taxes and military protection. I think it is a great idea. 51st State!!!"
Trudeau's mid-December visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida gave Trump reason to mock him again, saying: "It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada."
At that time, Trudeau took everything in stride. Not until yesterday, a day after he announced in a press conference in Ottawa that he was resigning as prime minister but will hold on to the office until a new party leader is chosen in March.
Assuming Trump's imperial aspirations come to fruition, the addition of Canada alone would have expanded the United States to the length and breadth of North America even more.
Not since the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 (which added 12 territories) had the original 13 colonies that made up the United States doubled its size.
For nearly half a century, the Philippines was a colony of the US. From Spain, the islands (along with Puerto Rico and Guam) were handed to the Americans after the US defeated the Spanish armada in the Battle of Manila Bay. The US paid Spain $20 million for the islands.
Trump's territorial ambitions have historical precedents. US presidents before him had initiated seizing lands either through conquests, annexation, cession, and other means. (More info at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_evolution_of_the_United_States).
On a personal note, I'm delighted to see Trudeau reacting strongly to Trump. Other Canadian officials, notably Ontario Premier Doug Ford, and former federal finance minister Chrystia Freeland, have rejected Trump's unrelenting teasing.
Whether it's a practical joke or not, I for one consider it an affront to Canadians and to their moral values considering that Trump is an adjudicated sexual offender (Donald Trump raped E. Jean Carroll even though he was found liable only for 'sexual abuse,' judge rules)
Trump's continuous taunt is an underestimation of our worth. It reduces us to mere adjuncts who could be easily subordinated by being bullied. (Copyright 2025. All Rights Reserved.)
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