Trump Revives 51st State Talk as Voters Push Back

President Donald Trump told rallygoers in Arizona on Wednesday that Canada will “end up being the 51st state, because it's the only way it works,” then added, “Just like Greenland.” He made the remarks while defending tariffs most Americans say they don't want.

Trump called Canadian trade policies toward the United States “brutal.” “They are brutal, and we don't take that crap anymore,” he said. He also said he had never actually intended to invade Greenland, despite publicly reserving that option.

The remarks came less than three weeks before the midterm elections, as Republicans on the ballot sought distance from a president the CNN report described as historically unpopular.

What Voters Say

The polling on these ideas isn't close. A February poll found 72% disapproved of Trump's handling of Greenland. Polls last year found 75% or 80% opposed making Canada the 51st state, depending on the survey. When Trump launched his recent tariffs on Canada, Americans opposed them 57%-20%, nearly a 3-to-1 margin.

The broader tariff numbers look similar. Recent surveys from Fox News, AP-NORC and CNN showed about 7 in 10 Americans or registered voters disapproving of Trump's handling of tariffs. Each poll recorded his worst numbers on the issue to date.

Prices, Tariffs and the Economy

At rallies in Arizona and Montana, Trump argued that “tariffs don't cause inflation.” He said the country was getting richer because of tariffs and high oil prices. “Our country is making more money than it's ever made because of the fact that oil is so high,” he said in Bullhead City, Arizona. He added, “I care more about the little person than I care about the big person,” and said that in oil-producing states, “we're making a fortune.”

But household data tells a different story. Trump has spent more than a year arguing there's no inflation and that the economy is in a “golden age.” A Pew Research Center poll last month found 42% of Americans rated the economy “poor,” while 8 in 10 rated it “fair” or “poor.” Both figures were new highs for his second term. This week brought two consecutive days of unfavorable inflation indicators, including data released Thursday showing U.S. wholesale inflation in September had reached its highest level in more than four years.

High oil prices enrich producing states. Drivers pay those same prices at the pump. Trump's framing treats that as a windfall, but it doesn't say who absorbs the cost.

Ideas the White House Dropped

The administration appeared to back away from two other proposals. One involved spending millions of dollars in taxpayer funds on ads promoting Trump; he indicated he would use campaign money instead. The other was livestreaming the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, which Trump said Thursday wouldn't happen.

Public opinion helped close both doors. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released Thursday found registered voters opposed livestreaming Hasan's execution, 80%-19%. A Reuters-Ipsos poll last week found voters considered taxpayer-funded political ads inappropriate, 89%-9%. A Washington Post poll found registered voters opposed pardoning violent January 6 defendants, 83%-16%.

Many Republicans had cautioned against the livestream. They called it gruesome and warned it could hand Islamic extremists a propaganda victory by making Hasan a public martyr. Those doubts apparently weren't raised with Trump or Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, or were dismissed.

The contrast with tariffs is stark. Unlike the Iran war, tariffs are an elective policy: the administration chose to pursue them and now chooses to promote them on the campaign trail.

Why This Matters:

Tariffs are a tax paid at the checkout counter. People with the least room in their budgets feel them most. When the president says tariffs don't cause inflation while wholesale inflation hits a four-year high, voters must square his claims with their own bills. The annexation talk adds another layer: floating the idea of absorbing Canada or Greenland strains alliances with democratic neighbors, while the trade fight with Canada is already costing goodwill. Public pushback, along with the discomfort of Republicans facing voters, helped kill the taxpayer-funded ads and the execution livestream. With less than three weeks left, the midterms will show whether voters extend that check to tariffs.