Shark Tank star says there’s ‘something great’ about Trump wanting to make Canada the 51st state

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary praised President-elect Donald Trump’s continued fascination with annexing Canada as an American state, saying there was “something great” about it because it would form “the most powerful country on earth.” Having spent the past few weeks taunting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by offering to make him a “governor” of “the 51st state,” the incoming president upped the ante with a Christmas message to the United States’ neighbor to the north. Besides recommending that hockey great Wayne Gretzky run to be “the Governor of Canada,” Trump also claimed that Canadians’ taxes would massively drop if they joined the American union. “Their businesses would immediately double in size and they would be militarily protected like no other country anywhere in the world.” Trump’s promise to lower taxes if Canada becomes an American state was met with approval from MAGA-loving Canucks, who said the offer sounded “good” to them. Adding that the Pentagon has been worried about Canada’s northern border and its proximity to Russia for a while, the Shark Tank co-host said that China’s recent ascendence as a superpower has created a “serious problem.” Therefore, according to O’Leary, Trump seeking to annex Canada would benefit both countries.