David Frum, a staff writer at The Atlantic, says the fact the incoming U.S. president keeps repeating the idea of taking over Canada means he’s eying some kind of aggression.
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s increasingly bold threats against Canada’s economy and sovereignty suggest “there’s something dangerous brewing” and a serious response is needed, a U.S. analyst says.
David Frum, a staff writer at The Atlantic who has covered U.S. politics for decades, doesn’t believe Trump actually wants to make Canada a U.S. state, but says the fact the incoming president keeps repeating that idea means he’s eying some kind of aggressive action.
“If you’re living with a mentally unstable partner and he says, ‘I’m going to push you down the stairs,’ he may not literally mean to push you down the stairs,” Frum told Mercedes Stephenson in an interview that aired Sunday on The West Block.
“If he then adds, ‘I’m going to chop you up with a knife,’ he may not literally mean to chop you up with a knife, but you’d better have a plan because he’s going to do something. There’s something dangerous brewing that you need to pay attention to.
“Does he mean some plan of aggression and hostility toward Canada? He pretty obviously does.”
Trump stunned international allies last week during a press conference where he refused to rule out using military action to take control of Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally, as well as the Panama Canal.
He also said he’d use “economic force” to compel Canada to join the U.S. and get rid of the “artificially drawn line” between the two countries, dismissed the need for Canadian imports like cars and dairy, and once again threatened “substantial tariffs” on Canadian goods that would damage the Canadian economy.
Trump has not backed down from his threat of 25-per cent tariffs despite initially linking it to demands for enhanced border security, which the Canadian government has sought to address.
Frum said Canadians should brace for that “tariff aggression,” which Trump can pursue with several unilateral actions, including declaring a national emergency to justify them.
Canada may also soon see the arrival of thousands of people fearing deportation from the U.S. seeking refuge from Trump’s pledged crackdown on illegal residents and immigration, Frum said.
“The immigration threat that now looms in North America is people moving from the United States to Canada,” he said.
Source: As Trump threatens Canada, ‘there’s something dangerous brewing’: analyst – National | Globalnews.ca