Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly delivered a blistering assessment of President Donald Trump’s attitude and insults toward her country on CNN, prompting anchor Christiane Amanpour to express open astonishment at the analysis.
Trump’s on-off-on-off tariffs on America’s northern neighbor are causing “too much uncertainty” for Canada’s economy and will ultimately batter Americans, said Joly. But they are actually just a “pretext” of the U.S. president’s desire to “put us into a state where we are much more weakened economically in order eventually to annex us,” she argued.
Canada is “a strong country” and can “definitely stop” America’s aggression, though, she said, adding: “Canadians are united. They’re united to defend our country, they’re united to defend our jobs, and, as I was saying, also our way of life. We’re not Americans. We’re very proud of our country.”
But she later continued: “We have been shown too much disrespect by the Trump administration at this point, calling us a 51st state, calling our prime minister ‘governor.’ This is not only a personal issue between Prime Minister [Justin] Trudeau and President Trump. It’s way more than that.”
Trump is posing “a fundamental threat” to the future of Canada, she warned.
Canada will now work to boost trade among its own provinces and territories and use its ties with the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, she said.
Amanpour was stunned by Joly’s candid talk.
“I’m like, my mouth has dropped. My jaw has dropped,” she said.
“Here is a major ally with a common border and you’re talking about having to defend yourself against America and talking about separating yourself from America towards Mexico and Europe,” Amanpour added. “I can barely internalize it. It’s like the end of an era.”
Watch the full exchange here: