Trump: Canada Still 'Considering' Statehood

Canada's participation in President Trump's $175 billion Golden Dome missile defense project will cost the country $61 billion—or nothing, Trump announced Tuesday. As King Charles III told Canada's Parliament that a "confident Canada" can "give themselves far more than any foreign power can ever take away," Trump took to Truth Social to note Canada's role in the project "will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State." "They are considering the offer!" he added. In response, the office of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he'd been clear that Canada will remain "an independent, sovereign nation," per CTV News.

Though Carney has said Canadian officials are considering investing in Trump's Golden Dome, he'd announced earlier Tuesday his intention to sign on to a European defense rearmament plan by July 1. "Seventy-five cents of every dollar of capital spending for defense goes to the United States," Carney told the CBC. "That's not smart." The ReArm Europe plan, inspired by Trump's repeated threats to pull out of NATO, foresees European nations spending about $90 trillion on defense over the next five years and includes a $170 billion loan program "which would allow countries to work with others outside the European Union to jointly buy or build arms," per Global News.

The plan signals Canada is looking to reduce its dependency on US weapons and munitions as Trump encourages the country to take part in his proposed Golden Dome, to include ground- and space-based capabilities able to detect and stop missiles at all four major stages of a potential attack. North Korea on Tuesday called the plan "the height of self-righteousness [and] arrogance" and warned "a global nuclear and space arms race" could result, per the BBC. China has said it's concerned by the project and its "strong offensive implications." "The United States, in pursuing a 'US-first' policy, is obsessed with seeking absolute security for itself," China's foreign ministry said last week. "This violates the principle that the security of all countries should not be compromised." (More President Trump stories.)