U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has been brandishing threats about turning sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ into the 51st state — something Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says is a diversion tactic to distract from the very real threat of a proposed 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods.
Trump's comments have certainly caught the attention of the figureheads of one of America's more venerated institutions: late-night talk shows. Here's what the hosts had to say about it earlier this week:
LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS:
"Trump's also been making a bunch of unhinged claims about absorbing sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ as the 51st state and even made a suggestion about who their next prime minister should be," Meyers joked on Tuesday, after the president-elect also suggested hockey legend Wayne Gretzky should lead sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½.
"I mean, I think Trump picked Wayne Gretzky because that's the only Canadian he knows. I also think the prime minister of Ireland should be the Lucky Charms mascot."
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE:
"For whatever reason, Trump loves — he enjoys terrorizing our allies. Putin? Good guy. sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½?," Kimmel scoffed Tuesday, with a mocking shrug.
"He's like Darth Vader. Come to the dark side, or else. Trump today suggested he'll consider using economic force to get sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to become part of the United States, and if that doesn't get him the Nobel Prize I don't know what is gonna."
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON:
"President-elect Trump wants the United States and sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to merge. Right now everyone who moved to sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ after Trump won is like 'Well, I guess it's off to the North Pole. I mean, what do we do? Where do I gotta go? What do we do?,"' Fallon joked Tuesday.
"I don't know, if you think America is divided now, imagine if half the country spelled colour with a 'U,'" he continued.
"Yep, Trump wants to merge with sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½. I feel like we're close to him offering a throuple with Mexico."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.
The Canadian Press